LeBron and Lakers get buzzer-beater karma in ending better than March Madness

The buzzer-beater Gods giveth, and the buzzer-beater Gods taketh away. About 24 hours after LeBron James tipped in a game-winner as time expired against the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers were on the wrong end of a last-second shot in Chicago — and I will say, subjectively, the gods overcompensated because tonight's shot was about one hundred times crazier than last night's.

Not only was the final shot one of the most absurd heaves of the year — Josh Giddey won the game with a half-court shot — but everything leading up to it made the final shot even more outrageous.

Bulls score 9 points in 10 seconds, stun LeBron James and Lakers

Inbounding the ball with 12.6 seconds left is about as "last gasp" as a play can get, and that's the situation Chicago was in on Thursday. That's a "does anyone want to try to pad their stats" situation, not a "we're going to win" situation.

But then Patrick Williams made a corner 3, the Bulls stole the inbound, and Coby White hit a 3 on the wing to take the lead. March Madness in the NBA usually means something completely different, but this was big time NCAA Tournament vibes.

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Bulls fight for No. 7 seed in Eastern Conference

Lots of NBA teams start to phone it in at the end of March because their playoff seeding is often set in stone.

Not the Chicago Bulls! Just two games back from the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls are potentially playing for their postseason lives in these final games, so a win like this one goes a long way — doing it with a 50-foot buzzer beater is just an added bonus.

Lakers lose fourth game in five tries

There's a pretty huge asterisk next to the Lakers recent cold streak — it's mostly happened without the services of LeBron James. Also, like I said... it's the end of March. While the Lakers are still playing for seeding, it also feels a bit like the mindset of the team is that it can beat anyone in the first round, and the opponent is less important than being rested and fully healthy going into the postseason.

How many times in LeBron James' career has his team puttered down the stretch of the regular season and then made a deep playoff run? More than once! More than thrice!