Anthony Davis, Lakers rally past Pacers to avenge earlier loss

Davis has 31 points, 14 rebounds and a key blocked shot on Tyrese Haliburton with 10 seconds left as the Lakers battle back for a 112-111 win. LeBron James has 26 points and pulls within 63 of the NBA’s career scoring record.

INDIANAPOLIS — While the stage at Gainbridge Fieldhouse isn’t quite the same as Madison Square Garden, the scenario late in Thursday’s game could not be more familiar to the heart palpitation-inducing Lakers.

They’ve been squeezed in clutch time games before, memorably against these Indiana Pacers, who erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit and edged the Lakers when a rookie drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer back in November.

They were again setting up for disappointment, a key blocked shot by Anthony Davis spoiled by two missed free throws by Pat Beverley. That left Indiana with the ball with six seconds left down by one point and Coach Rick Carlisle drawing up a play on the sideline – would the Lakers experience the same searing pain against the very same team?

Not this time: Dennis Schröder and Russell Westbrook managed to swarm Buddy Hield in the corner, and Hield forced up a heave from 17 feet away that bounced off the rim and into the hands of Davis, who didn’t let the ball go even after the buzzer sounded in their 112-111 win.

The Lakers (25-28) need every win they can get – especially against the down-on-their-luck Pacers (24-29), who had lost 10 of 11 coming into the matchup during a stretch without newly minted All-Star Tyrese Haliburton. Davis led the way with 31 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks – including one on Haliburton with 10 seconds left that kept him from giving his team the lead.

LeBron James had 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and moved within 63 points of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA’s all-time scoring record.

James gave the Lakers – who trailed by as much as 15 points – their first lead of the night on a 3-pointer with 2:35 left in the game, and Davis’ 11-footer with 35.1 seconds left was the decisive basket.

Aaron Nesmith scored a career-high 24 points, Haliburton added 26 points and 12 assists in his first game in three weeks and Myles Turner had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana.

For most of the night, it looked as if the Pacers would pull away, thanks to their speed and a significant advantage from 3-point range, where they were 16 for 41 compared to the Lakers’ 6-for-22 showing. Indiana led by double digits for most of the first three quarters and 98-84 early in the fourth.

But the Lakers took advantage of Indiana’s late fouls and the heroics of James and Davis down the stretch.

Much more to come on this story.