Rui Hachimura records first career NBA buzzer beater

Rui Hachimura (YouTube)

The Los Angeles Lakers came through with a dramatic 123-120 win over the Toronto Raptors at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Thursday. A major reason for the Lakers success was because of a clutch shot made by Rui Hachimura of Toyama, Japan.

For the first time in Hachimura’s career, he recorded a buzzer beater. With the game tied at 120, Hachimura made a 24-foot shot with no time remaining on the clock. With the win, the Lakers improved to a record of 16 wins and five losses.

Hachimura made four of nine field goal attempts, two of three three-point attempts, and two of two free throws. He had three rebounds, one steal and was a +4.

This is Hachimura’s fourth season with the Lakers after four seasons with the Washington Wizards to begin his NBA career. Hachimura has also started all 20 games for the Lakers this season. In 2025-26, he is averaging 13.9 points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game. Hachimura has a field goal percentage of .538, three point percentage of .468, and free throw percentage of .750.

The other Lakers star in the game was shooting guard Auston Reaves of Newark, Arkabnsas. Reaves had 44 points and 10 assists for the impressive double double. In another note, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer of all-time, LeBron James of Akron, Ohio, did not score 10 points. He only scored eight points. That stops a streak of 1297 consecutive games where James scored a minimum of 10 points in a game. The streak could have continued if Hachimura did not record a buzzer beater.