Only a day after beating the Pacers on the road on a buzzer-beater by LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers were involved in one of the most dramatic games of the regular season on Thursday night. Leading the Bulls by 16 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers had an epic collapse late in the game, allowing nine points in the last ten seconds of the game, including an epic half-court buzzer-beater by Josh Giddey to win the game for Chicago.
BULLS WIN ON AN ELECTRIFYING SEQUENCE ⚡️
Patrick Williams triple with 10.3 seconds left.
Coby White for the lead with 6.1 seconds left.
Austin Reaves takes the lead back with 3.3 to go.
Josh Giddey hits the #TissotBuzzerBeater.
CLUTCH BASKETBALL AT ITS FINEST! pic.twitter.com/fPwP3IiVM1
— NBA (@NBA) March 28, 2025
The Lakers had the chance to close out the game on multiple occasions but failed to do so. One of the biggest culprits of that was James.
After the Bulls cut the lead to two on a Patrick Williams three with ten seconds left, James had a horrendous turnover trying to inbound the ball to Austin Reaves. If he were to complete the pass, Reaves would have had a chance to ice the game with two free throws and a chance to make it a two-possession game.
Instead, James made a mistake, and Coby White hit a three to push the Bulls ahead. Reaves scored a bucket on the ensuing play to give the Lakers the lead again before Giddey hit the biggest shot of his career.
After the game, James took the blame for the Lakers' loss, per Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll.
"We put ourselves in a position to win. Horrible turnover by myself. Bad miscommunication the play before that. [Reaves] still hit a big bucket to try to save us and you tip your hat if someone hits a game-winner from half court."
LeBron James
James had a poor performance overall, missing all five of his three-point attempts, and going 8/20 from the field on the way to 17 points. The Lakers lost the 39 minutes he was on the court by ten points.
The 40-year-old superstar will undoubtedly bounce back as the Lakers take on the Grizzlies in Memphis on Saturday in a crucial game for playoff seeding. The two teams are tied for 4th-place, aka home-court advantage, with 44-29 records. How LeBron and the Lakers respond to this devastating loss will be fascinating to watch.
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