Game ID: 22401055
Los Angeles Lakers @ Indiana Pacers
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM ET
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
IND 33 22 37 27 119LAL 28 40 27 25 120
IND vs LAL ScoutingIND vs LAL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
IND availability going into 3/19 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 61 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/11 after 3, 33 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Walker back 3/17 after 3, 35 min since (233% of 15)
IND availability going into 3/20 · back-to-backOUT Haliburton missed 2 since 3/17, out tonight
OUT Isa. Jackson missed 62 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Walker back 3/17 after 3, 21 min since (137% of 15)
NEW Nesmith 26 to 33 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 3/22 · 1 day's restOUT Haliburton missed 3 since 3/17, returns tonight: 32 min (95% of 34)
OUT Isa. Jackson missed 63 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Walker back 3/17 after 3, 17 min since (113% of 15)
NEW Nesmith 26 to 33 min over the last 4
NEW Toppin 20 to 26 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 3/24 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 64 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 32 min since (95% of 34)
BACK Walker back 3/17 after 3, 14 min since (96% of 15)
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 4
NEW Toppin 20 to 25 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 3/26 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 65 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 31 min since (91% of 34)
BACK Walker back 3/17 after 3, 12 min since (79% of 15)
NEW Toppin 20 to 25 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 3/27 · back-to-backOUT Isa. Jackson missed 66 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 31 min since (92% of 34)
IND availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 67 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 29 min since (88% of 34)
IND availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 68 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 29 min since (87% of 34)
IND availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Mathurin missed 2 since 3/29, out tonight
OUT Isa. Jackson missed 69 since 11/04, out tonight
LAL availability going into 3/19 · 1 day's restOUT James missed 5 since 3/10, out tonight
OUT Hachimura missed 10 since 2/28, out tonight
OUT Reddish missed 2 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Morris missed 2 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Len missed 2 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Jemison III missed 4 since 3/13, out tonight
BACK Hayes back 3/16 after 4, 28 min since (152% of 19)
BACK Milton back 3/10 after 2, 11 min since (103% of 11)
NEW Vincent 21 to 29 min over the last 4
NEW Knecht 19 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Goodwin 17 to 29 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 3/20 · back-to-backOUT James missed 6 since 3/10, out tonight
OUT Hachimura missed 11 since 2/28, out tonight
OUT Reddish missed 3 since 3/16, returns tonight: 22 min (125% of 18)
OUT Morris missed 3 since 3/16, returns tonight: 28 min (183% of 16)
OUT Len missed 3 since 3/16, returns tonight: 17 min (165% of 10)
OUT Jemison III missed 5 since 3/13, returns tonight: 16 min (158% of 10)
BACK Hayes back 3/16 after 4, 27 min since (145% of 19)
NEW Knecht 19 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Goodwin 17 to 29 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 3/22 · 1 day's restOUT James missed 7 since 3/10, returns tonight: 31 min (89% of 35)
OUT Hachimura missed 12 since 2/28, returns tonight: 18 min (56% of 32)
BACK Hayes back 3/16 after 4, 24 min since (130% of 19)
BACK Reddish back 3/14 after 19, 15 min since (81% of 18)
BACK Morris back 3/20 after 3, 28 min since (183% of 16)
BACK Len back 3/20 after 3, 17 min since (165% of 10)
BACK Jemison III back 3/20 after 5, 16 min since (158% of 10)
NEW Knecht 19 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Goodwin 17 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Milton 11 to 16 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 3/24 · 1 day's restBACK James back 3/22 after 7, 31 min since (89% of 35)
BACK Hachimura back 3/22 after 12, 18 min since (56% of 32)
BACK Hayes back 3/16 after 4, 25 min since (131% of 19)
BACK Reddish back 3/20 after 3, 22 min since (125% of 18)
BACK Morris back 3/20 after 3, 18 min since (113% of 16)
BACK Len back 3/20 after 3, 12 min since (114% of 10)
BACK Jemison III back 3/20 after 5, 16 min since (158% of 10)
NEW Goodwin 17 to 27 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 3/26 · 1 day's restOUT Reddish missed 2 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK James back 3/22 after 7, 35 min since (98% of 35)
BACK Hachimura back 3/22 after 12, 21 min since (65% of 32)
BACK Morris back 3/20 after 3, 18 min since (113% of 16)
BACK Len back 3/20 after 3, 12 min since (114% of 10)
BACK Jemison III back 3/20 after 5, 8 min since (82% of 10)
NEW Goodwin 17 to 24 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 3/27 · back-to-backOUT Reddish missed 3 since 3/22, not on tonight's roster
OUT Morris missed 2 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Milton missed 2 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Len missed 2 since 3/24, out tonight
BACK James back 3/22 after 7, 36 min since (101% of 35)
BACK Hachimura back 3/22 after 12, 23 min since (73% of 32)
BACK Jemison III back 3/20 after 5, 8 min since (82% of 10)
LAL availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Morris missed 3 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Milton missed 3 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Len missed 3 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Jemison III missed 2 since 3/26, out tonight
BACK James back 3/22 after 7, 36 min since (103% of 35)
BACK Hachimura back 3/22 after 12, 23 min since (73% of 32)
BACK Reddish back 3/20 after 3, 22 min since (125% of 18)
LAL availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Morris missed 4 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Milton missed 4 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Len missed 4 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Jemison III missed 3 since 3/26, out tonight
BACK James back 3/22 after 7, 37 min since (104% of 35)
BACK Hachimura back 3/22 after 12, 25 min since (77% of 32)
LAL availability going into 4/03 · 2 days' restOUT Morris missed 5 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Milton missed 5 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Len missed 5 since 3/24, out tonight
OUT Jemison III missed 4 since 3/26, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mathurin at 19 and Siakam at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Isa. Jackson (65 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Dončić at 30 and Reaves at 24 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Reddish (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the defense, Indiana allowing 113 a night to the Lakers' 120. Call it Indiana 118, the Lakers 112.
3/19 vs DAL 135-131 — IND notes
IND won 135-131. IND shot 55% (45 of 82) to DAL's 55%, 16 of 35 from three. Siakam led with 29 (11 of 16, 3 of 4 from three); Mathurin added 23, Nembhard 22. The hinge was Q1, 33-21: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 16.
3/20 vs BKN 105-99 — IND notes
IND won 105-99 in 1 overtime. IND shot 43% (35 of 81) to BKN's 36%, 8 of 31 from three, and went to the line 31 times to BKN's 18 — 27 points from the stripe to their 13. IND turned it over 22 times to BKN's 16, and BKN turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 57-47 for them. Mathurin led with 28 (10 of 17, 2 of 4 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Turner added 23, Nesmith 14. The hinge was Q3, 25-19: the deficit went from 10 to 4. IND trailed 42-52 at the half and won the second half 63-47. Mathurin was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
3/22 vs BKN 108-103 — IND notes
IND won 108-103. IND shot 48% (40 of 84) to BKN's 43%, 11 of 35 from three. Siakam led with 26 (10 of 20, 1 of 5 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Turner added 22, Haliburton 16. The hinge was Q3, 29-18: a lead of 9 became 20. Siakam was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
3/24 vs MIN 119-103 — IND notes
IND won 119-103. IND shot 49% (46 of 94) to MIN's 48%, 13 of 35 from three. IND turned it over 11 times to MIN's 17. Haliburton led with 24 (9 of 16, 3 of 7 from three); Toppin added 20, Nesmith 17. The hinge was Q3, 41-25: a lead of 6 became 22. Siakam was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
3/26 vs LAL 119-120 — IND notes
IND lost 119-120. IND took 8 more shots (87 to 79), but shot 51% to LAL's 52%, 15 of 36 from three. IND turned it over 9 times to LAL's 14. Mathurin led with 23 (7 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Nembhard added 16, Turner 16. Q3 was theirs, 37-27, the deficit cut from 13 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 93-82 against them.
3/27 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 119, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Sarr at 18 and Poole at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Coulibaly (9 straight), Brogdon (18 straight), Holmes (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Mathurin at 20 and Haliburton at 19 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (66 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Indiana wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Indiana has been minus-1 a night and Washington minus-7 and the defense, Indiana allowing 111 a night to Washington's 119. Call it Indiana 117, Washington 112.
3/29 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 103, shooting 50 percent and 47 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Wiggins at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Wiggins (2 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 107, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Mathurin at 17 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (67 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 47 percent from three to Indiana's 40 and the glass, where OKC has been plus-9 a night and Indiana plus-4. Call it OKC 118, Indiana 111.
3/31 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Siakam at 16 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (68 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; DeRozan at 19 and LaVine at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Sacramento's 35. Call it Indiana 119, Sacramento 111.
4/02 vs CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Toppin at 15 a game. Without Mathurin (2 straight), Isa. Jackson (69 straight). One day's rest. Charlotte comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Bridges at 17 and Mar. Williams at 14 a game. Without Gra. Williams (59 straight), Baugh (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Charlotte's 34 and the turnovers, Charlotte giving it away 16 times a game to Indiana's 11. Call it Indiana 117, Charlotte 108.
3/19 vs DEN 120-108 — LAL notes
LAL won 120-108. LAL shot 51% (42 of 83) to DEN's 47%, 16 of 38 from three, and went to the line 28 times to DEN's 21 — 20 points from the stripe to their 13. LAL turned it over 13 times to DEN's 18. Dončić led with 31 (10 of 21, 4 of 9 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Reaves added 22, Finney-Smith 14. The hinge was Q1, 46-29: from level to 17 ahead, and the lead reached 30. Finney-Smith was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
3/20 vs MIL 89-118 — LAL notes
LAL lost 89-118. LAL shot 41% (34 of 82) to MIL's 48%, 11 of 32 from three, and got to the line 16 times to MIL's 34. LAL turned it over 19 times to MIL's 9, and MIL turned those into 12 steals. Knecht led with 17 (5 of 14, 3 of 6 from three); James added 17, Len 10. Q2 was theirs, 27-23, the deficit cut from 15 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 95-62 against them. Milton's -37 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/22 vs CHI 115-146 — LAL notes
LAL lost 115-146. LAL shot 48% (41 of 85) to CHI's 58%, 17 of 41 from three. LAL turned it over 21 times to CHI's 10, and CHI turned those into 17 steals. Dončić led with 34 (10 of 18, 8 of 13 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Reaves added 25, L. James 17. Q1 was theirs, 31-32, but the other 3 periods went 114-84 against them. L. James's -27 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/24 @ ORL 106-118 — LAL notes
LAL lost 106-118. LAL shot 46% (37 of 80) to ORL's 49%, 10 of 32 from three. Dončić led with 32 (9 of 23, 4 of 10 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); James added 24, Reaves 18. Q1 was theirs, 30-26, but the other 3 periods went 92-76 against them. James's -17 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/26 @ IND 120-119 — LAL notes
LAL won 120-119. LAL shot 52% (41 of 79) to IND's 51%, 17 of 38 from three. LAL turned it over 14 times to IND's 9, and IND turned those into 9 steals. Dončić led with 34 (11 of 21, 6 of 10 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Reaves added 24, Hachimura 14. The hinge was Q2, 40-22: LAL came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 17. Vanderbilt was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
3/27 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 115, shooting 52 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; White at 32 and Giddey at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Ball (12 straight). 2 days' rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 122, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Dončić at 33 and Reaves at 22 a game. Without Reddish (3 straight), Morris (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 15 times a game to Chicago's 11 and the defense, Chicago allowing 115 a night to the Lakers' 122. Call it Chicago 122, the Lakers 112, Chicago by 10.
3/29 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 121, shooting 45 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Bane at 20 and Jackson Jr. at 19 a game. Without Morant (6 straight), Jackson (5 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 124, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Dončić at 31 and Reaves at 24 a game. Without Morris (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Memphis wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Memphis 119, the Lakers 114.
3/31 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 126, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Dončić at 31 and Reaves at 26 a game. Without Morris (4 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Green at 24 and Sengun at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-9 a night and the Lakers minus-2 and the defense, Houston allowing 109 a night to the Lakers' 126. Call it Houston 116, the Lakers 115, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/03 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 116, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Dončić at 28 and Reaves at 23 a game. Without Morris (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Curry at 29 and Butler III at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Payton II (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it the Lakers 115, Golden State 114, Golden State keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LALAR A. Reaves
DF D. Finney-Smith
DK D. Knecht
DO Doncic
GV G. Vincent
JG J. Goodwin
JH J. Hayes
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
RH R. Hachimura
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
JW J. Walker
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
LAL/IND the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
LeBron James beats buzzer with tip to lift Lakers past Pacers and keep record streak alive
INDIANAPOLIS -- — LeBron James had a buzzer-beating tip-in to cap a 10-point fourth quarter, Luka Doncic scored 34 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 120-119 on Wednesday night.
James extended his NBA-record streak of 10 or more points to 1,283 games — barely. He was 0 for 6 with three points through the first three quarters. He finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Doncic also had seven rebounds, seven assists and made six 3-pointers. Austin Reaves added 24 points as the Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak to move into a tie with Memphis for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Bennedict Mathurin had 23 points to lead Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton had a season-high 18 assists and 16 points, the last of which gave Indiana a 119-118 lead with 42.2 seconds left. Indiana had streaks of five straight wins overall and eight straight at home snapped.
The Lakers led the entire second and third quarters and were still up 118-112 with 1:44 to go. But Haliburton's three-point play capped a 7-0 run that gave Indiana the lead. Both teams then had empty possessions and Doncic missed a midrange floater in the waning seconds, setting up James for the winner.
Takeaways Lakers: Los Angeles desperately needed something to go right after losing seven of its previous 10. And despite seeing James go 4 of 12, the Lakers — and James — still found a way to finish the job.
Pacers: Indiana fought back from an 18-0 first half run that threatened to turn this one into a blowout. But its this kind of resilience that could propel them to a strong postseason run.
Key moment James beat the Pacers to rim for the winner, then was careful to just touch it and pull his hand away.
Key stat While James was 0 for 5 from the field in the first half, the Lakers shot 52.4% and made made 10 3s, two more than Indiana.
Up next Los Angeles makes its next stop on a four-game trip Thursday night at Chicago. Indiana visits Washington on Thursday in its final back-to-back this season.