Austin Reaves hailed LeBron James as a "winner at heart" who showed what he is all about with his buzzer-beating tip-in for the Los Angeles Lakers.

James came up with the decisive moment as the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 120-119 on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old tipped in following Luka Doncic's miss at the buzzer as the Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak. He is the only player in NBA history to have a game-winning buzzer-beater against the same opponent with three different teams, having previously done so against the Pacers with the Miami Heat (2013) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2018).

James extended his NBA-record streak of 10 or more points to 1,283 games, finishing with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Though not at his very best, Reaves feels James demonstrated what makes him one of the greatest players in NBA history.

"Just shows you what he's about," Reaves said.

"He's a winner at heart. That's really it."

James explained he was not able to get too caught up in the celebrations at first.

"I really couldn't really have too much emotion because I was trying to see if I got the ball off in time, to be honest," James said.

"But after they showed the replay on it, it was definitely gratifying."

2013: LeBron buzzer-beater vs. Pacers with Heat

2018: LeBron buzzer-beater vs. Pacers with Cavs

2025: LeBron buzzer-beater vs. Pacers with Lakers

He's the only player in NBA history to have a game-winning buzzer-beater vs. the same opponent with 3 different teams (reg or post) pic.twitter.com/yfjmJeHXOf

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 27, 2025

James entered the fourth quarter on 0-for-6 shooting, with only three points under his belt, but he came up big when it mattered.

"You don't really know if you are in a rhythm or if you are out of rhythm with six shot attempts," he added.

"It's just about still what can I do to still affect the game.

"The game is never over until it says zeroes on the clock, literally, and just keeping our composure throughout it all."

Doncic led the Lakers with 34 points while Reaves contributed 24, and coach JJ Redick was simply glad to get over the line against what he believes is one of the toughest teams in the league.

"It felt like a game we won three times and we lost three times and we ended up winning the game," he said.

"It's hard to win in the NBA. It's hard to win against a great team like Indiana.

"Frankly, they don't ever get talked about enough nationally. They're a phenomenal basketball team."