The Los Angeles Lakers are your first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament champions after beating the Indiana Pacers in the title game in Las Vegas on Saturday. Of course, LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way for the Purple and Gold, with the duo showing how capable they are in high-stake games.
LA led for the most part, going up by as much as 11 points late in the third quarter. As they have shown throughout the competition and the 2023-24 season, however, the Pacers fought hard and made it interesting at the start of the final period before LA pulled away for good.
Lakers vs. Pacers NBA In-Season Tournament Recap
Tyrese Haliburton, after a rather slow start in the first half that saw him score just seven points, came alive in the second half to keep the Pacers in contention. They were able to cut the Lakers' lead to just three points after a 7-2 run in the first minute and half of the fourth quarter.
In the end, however, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were simply too much. The biggest difference-maker for the Lakers was when they held the Pacers to just five points in five minutes, all while staging a 17-point run themselves. It allowed them to go up 115-99 with just three minutes left to play.
It was all over by that point, with the Lakers simply maintaining their lead to secure the 123-109 win.
Davis was absolutely dominant with a monster double-double of 41 points and 20 rebounds, all while adding five assists and four blocks. James, for his part, was motivated all game long and looked the “Prime LeBron” that Rick Carlisle described before the showdown. James kept attacking the basket on his way to 24 points on top of his 11 boards, four assists and two steals.
Austin Reaves provided a much-needed spark off the bench for the Lakers as well, with the Team USA star dropping 28 points to help keep LA ahead in the contest and eventually edge out the Pacers.
Haliburton had 20 points and 11 assists, but the Lakers' defense proved to be too much for the Pacers. Aside from Haliburton, it was only Bennedict Mathurin who reached the 20-point mark in scoring.
Now, the Lakers can proudly say that they are the first-ever winners of the NBA In-Season Tournament. Aside from the prize money, though, it's certainly an important win for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Co. as they showed everyone why they should never be written off as title contenders.
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