MADRID, 8 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers will face each other in the grand final of the NBA In-Season Tournament, whose outcome is being held in Las Vegas (Nevada), thanks to their respective victories against the New Orleans Pelicans (133-89) and the Milwaukee Bucks (119-128) early this Friday.
At the T-Mobile Arena, decked out for the Final Four of this historic first edition of the cup tournament, the semifinal between the Bucks and the Pacers opened fire. An even first quarter (29-27) gave way to a second period in which the Indianapolis franchise took off on the scoreboard, thanks to its usual fast-paced attacking style.
Their great star, point guard Tyrese Haliburton, showed credentials to compete for the MVP of a competition in which he is shining in the direction of the game and also in the distribution of passes. However, the offensive awakening of guard Damian Lillard made the Wisconsin team come back after the break (from 51-63 to 94-91).
Once again, the good judgment of Haliburton, who finished with 27 points and 15 assists, joined with the skill of his teammate Myles Turner under the basket (26 points and 10 rebounds) to secure the victory in the last minutes of the fourth act. Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, despite scoring 37 points and capturing 10 rebounds, did not prevent the Bucks from defeat.
In the West semifinal, on the other hand, the Lakers were a steamroller and gave the Pelicans (133-89) no option, whom they condemned with a superb second quarter by LeBron James, who needed only 22 minutes to finish the match.
The star of the Algerian franchise excelled with 30 points and 8 assists. With 4 of 4 from the three-point line, his three consecutive triples at the beginning of the second quarter ended up breaking the game, after the Louisiana team took the first set by the minimum.
The 44-point difference allows the Lakers to achieve their fourth largest victory since 1990, only surpassed by the 55-point advantage over the Cavaliers in 2011, the 46 against the Hawks in 2004 and the 46 against the Jazz in 2000, with Kobe Bryant on the court in all three games.
2023-12-08 10:02:40
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