James, the 41-year-old superstar playing in his 19th postseason, came up with a steal and a game-tying three-pointer with 13.6 seconds left in regulation.
He couldn’t get a potential game-winner to drop at the buzzer, but added a steal and a block in a frantic overtime as the Lakers pushed the Rockets to the brink of elimination in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.
No NBA team has come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series.
“Just trying to seize the opportunity,” James, who added 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals, told broadcaster Prime. “My guys trust me to try to make plays, and I’m blessed to be able to do it.”
The Lakers will have a chance to close out the series in Houston on Sunday. It’s not a position many expected them to be in with league-leading scorer Luka Doncic sidelined by a hamstring strain and key offensive contributor Austin Reaves out with an oblique injury.
The young Rockets, with veteran star Kevin Durant sidelined by a sprained ankle, were led by Alperen Sengun’s 33 points and 16 rebounds.
They rallied from an early 15-point deficit and led by six with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.
But their mistakes caught up with them. A Houston turnover was followed by a foul on Marcus Smart as he attempted a three-pointer.
Smart made all three free throws to cut the Lakers’ deficit to 101-98 and set the stage for James’s game-tying basket.
Sengun missed a potential go-ahead basket before James was off-target from beyond the arc, and they went to overtime, Smart scoring eight of his 21 points in the extra session as the Lakers pulled away.
