James rallies Lakers past Pacers 124-116 after suspension

This season, LeBron James missed his chance to shine at Madison Square Garden. As a result, when he returned to Indiana on Wednesday night, he picked up his teammates.

After receiving his first career ban for a brawl in Detroit on Sunday, James hit tiebreaking and backbreaking 3-pointers in overtime and finished with 39 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 124-116 victory against Indiana.

“I was ecstatic to be in the lineup,” he explained. “With me not playing last night on the second night of a back-to-back, I knew I could give our men a burst of energy with my absence.”

After punching Pistons center Isaiah Stewart in the face and drawing blood Sunday, James sat out Tuesday night in a defeat at New York. According to James, he has not communicated with Stewart.

Coach Frank Vogel remarked, “I know he wanted to achieve this ‘W.'” “He really wanted to play in that Knicks game, and he always looks forward to it.” So for him to come back tonight, quarterback the defense and carry the offense the way he did, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime performance.”

James had six assists and five rebounds while shooting 13 of 29 from the field. With All-Star big Anthony Davis out due to flu-like symptoms, James was also in charge of calling defensive assignments in a game that the Lakers never led until Malik Monk’s 3-pointer with 4:35 remaining in regulation.

But, as the Lakers won for the second time in six games, James was his typical dominant self down the stretch.

“James is a fantastic player who has gotten hot,” remarked Pacers coach Frank Vogel. “There were a few things we needed to do to keep his touches to a minimum. We didn’t, and now we’re paying the price.”

He saved the Lakers from a game that had all the hallmarks of a pre-holiday game at the end of a lengthy trip: inconsistency, sloppiness, and at times awful basketball.

Despite this, James and his team were able to clean up the mess and land the knockout blow.

He scored seven straight points to put the Lakers up 110-104 with 76 seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime.

With 22.6 seconds left, Russell Westbrook converted two free throws to make it 112-109, and only an off-balance 3-pointer by Chris Duarte and James’ wayward 3-pointer at the buzzer kept the Lakers from winning in regulation.

In overtime, James didn’t give the Pacers a second chance.

With 2:51 left, his first three made it 117-114. He made the second a minute later to increase the lead to six and added a midrange jumper before Wayne Ellington sealed the deal. In the final three minutes, Indiana only managed to score one basket.

TIP-INS

Russell Westbrook led the Lakers with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Monk finished with 17 points. Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington both had 14 points… Dwight Howard grabbed nine rebounds, while DeAndre Jordan had 11. Rajon Rondo and Kent Bazemore sat out the game as well, despite not being listed on the pregame injury report.

Brogdon had seven rebounds for the Pacers. Myles Turner scored 12 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, while Domantas Sabonis had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Just Holiday received a score of 16… Indiana made 13 of 46 three-point attempts… The Pacers started the second half with three straight turnovers after committing only two in the first. They ended up with 11 players.

UPDATE ON WARREN

T.J. Warren, a Pacers forward, is still recovering from a stress fracture in his left foot, and he took another big stride forward on Wednesday. Warren did some spot shooting at the pregame shootaround less than three weeks after abandoning the walking boot, according to coach Rick Carlisle.

“He’s not moving all that much, but he’s contributing a little bit,” Carlisle added, “which is heartening for us and, I believe, for him as well.” “I assume we’ll see where he is on Tuesday, and then we’ll have a timetable.”