![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2184212823-e1770996949428.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Lakers’ Bronny James during a game against the Toronto Raptors in November 2024<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> responded to their recent loss against the Detroit Pistons<\/a> by returning to winning ways with a 137-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers<\/a> on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n Luka Doncic<\/a> once again led the way with 43 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, shooting 15-of-30 from the field and knocking down four three-pointers.<\/p>\n Austin Reaves<\/a>, LeBron James<\/a>, and Jaxson Hayes<\/a> added 25, 21, and 23 points, respectively, as Los Angeles improved to 47-26 on the season.<\/p>\n Facing an Indiana side sitting bottom of the Eastern Conference at 16-57, head coach JJ Redick<\/a> had the opportunity to extend minutes deeper into the rotation.<\/p>\n Lakers Continue Cautious Approach With Bronny James<\/p>\n While Dalton Knecht<\/a> and Kobe Bufkin<\/a> remained out of the Lakers\u2019 rotation, Bronny James<\/a> saw 13 minutes of action.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old finished with four points, highlighted by an athletic back-door cut dunk late in the game.<\/p>\n He also added one rebound, one assist, two steals, and one block, shooting 2-of-4 from the field.<\/p>\n James\u2019 opportunities at the NBA<\/a> level have remained limited throughout his first two professional seasons, and have become even more sporadic in recent months.<\/p>\n In February, he appeared in just three games for the Lakers, logging<\/a> 32 minutes, and through March, he has played only 27 minutes across four contests.<\/p>\n Despite that, Redick has expressed confidence in James\u2019 development, particularly in light of his performances with the South Bay Lakers.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s gotten significantly better,\u201d Redick told reporters, via BasketNews<\/a>. \u201cOur staff has a lot of confidence in him, and it felt like this was a game we really needed him. It was a game where his athleticism and defense stood out\u2014he had two really good individual defensive possessions in the first half. The biggest thing with him right now is his confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven though he didn\u2019t make his three tonight, he has a lot of confidence in his shot. He\u2019s having a fantastic season with South Bay and has arguably been the best player in the last three or four weeks in our stay-ready games every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Strong G League Form Continues to Drive Optimism<\/p>\n Across 27 NBA appearances for the Lakers this season, James is averaging<\/a> 6.7 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 6.7 minutes per game, shooting 31.3% from the field and 28.1% from three-point range.<\/p>\n However, his development has been far more evident<\/a> at the G League level, where he has been a consistent presence in South Bay\u2019s rotation during recent weeks.<\/p>\n In 18 appearances, James is averaging<\/a> 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.<\/p>\n Over 12 regular season contests for the Lakers\u2019 affiliate, his scoring has climbed to 15.2 points per game, while shooting an efficient 54.6% from the field, 42.1% from beyond the arc, and 90.9% from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely a big improvement from last year,\u201d Doncic said of James. \u201cI saw him in training camp, and he was doing some stuff that really impressed me. Today, he did a great job. It was a big game for him. That pull-up was a big bucket\u2014probably one of the most important shots of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey were coming back, and he hit that one. I think he did really great in those minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n Further assignments to South Bay are expected, with the team currently sitting atop the Western Conference standings<\/a> at 24-10.<\/p>\n With a deep G League postseason run on the horizon, James is set to play a key role as the Lakers\u2019 affiliate pushes towards a potential championship.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMatt Evans<\/a> is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Lakers’ Bronny James during a game against the Toronto Raptors in November 2024 The Los Angeles Lakers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3774],"tags":[7,113,126,3866,6,114],"class_list":{"0":"post-679741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indiana-pacers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-indiana","10":"tag-indiana-pacers","11":"tag-indianapacers","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-pacers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116294555981545943","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}