LeBron James scores 30 points and the Los Angeles Lakers advance to the NBA season tournament finals
The Lakers’ victory allows them to advance to the championship game of the inaugural edition of the tournament, where they will face the Indiana Pacers for a chance to win the NBA Cup.
The semifinals were played at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – like the final – with specially designed fields and an atmosphere close to that of a post-season game.
While the Pelicans seemed to channel that competitive energy in the first quarter, taking a narrow one-point lead in the second, their offense stagnated for the rest of the game, as they were completely overwhelmed by the Purple and Gold.
The Lakers entered the half with a 13-point advantage, before a wild third quarter, in which they outscored New Orleans 43 to 17 points, put the game away out of the question from the start.
“I think we’re starting to understand what we need to become as a team to win basketball games, to be consistent,” James said after the game, according to the NBA: “Defensively, we’re really, really starting to exploit this idea: ‘OK, we have to defend every night.’ When we defend, we give ourselves a chance to win every night.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said afterward that he enjoyed the different feel the competition brings.
“I think the intensity of this tournament is telling, because it’s not just a regular season game. “It doesn’t feel like that. The stakes are much higher and we see in these delicate moments what the players have in their stomachs, at least at the beginning.
LA’s free-for-all offense allowed six players to reach double-digit scoring. Lakers big man Anthony Davis scored 16 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, dished out five assists, made two steals and two blocks, while Austin Reaves scored 17 points, grabbed five rebounds and delivered seven assists in outings of bench.
James, who turns 39 at the end of the month, was on fire from deep, hitting all four of his three-point attempts on the night. He made three straight shots in the second quarter to kick off the Lakers, including a heat-check shot he made from the center field logo.
Conversely, Trey Murphy III led his team in scoring with 14 points, as the Pelicans shot a measly 35.8 percent from the field – and 22.6 percent from deep – in a performance which coach Willie Green described as a “total disappointment” and “a step in the wrong direction”.
Rhythm
IST’s surprise team continues to turn heads.
Thanks to the phenomenal play of emerging star Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 on Thursday to set up a championship matchup with the Lakers.
Haliburton scored 27 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out 15 assists without committing a foul, while center Myles Turner added 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Milwaukee came back from a double-digit deficit to take the lead in the third quarter and battled the Pacers until the end, but saw the game slip away when Haliburton hit a putback triple to seal it victory with less than a minute to go.
Indiana will face LA in the title game on Saturday. Unlike other IST matches, the final will not count toward either team’s regular season record.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
2023-12-09 20:27:51
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