Davis powers Lakers to in-season title
LAS VEGAS—Fueled by a monster game from Anthony Davis, the seasoned LA Lakers dismantled the upstart Indiana Pacers, 123-109, to win the first edition of the NBA in-season tournament on Saturday.
Davis scored 41 points and pulled down 20 rebounds, while superstar LeBron James added 24 points and 11 rebounds for the 17-time NBA champion Lakers, who added their first NBA Cup to the club trophy case.
For James, it was a brand new accolade in the 21st season of a career that has included four NBA titles, the 38-year-old getting the nod as Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Led by Davis and James, the Lakers out-muscled the Pacers, never letting them get their high-octane offense to fully fire.
They outscored the Pacers, 86-44, in the paint and got the better of them off the boards, 55-32.
“We know it’s not the real thing, but we keep taking steps in the right direction,” Davis said. “I think just our energy, our effort to start the game, our focus, was off the charts tonight.
“The first to do it, we’ll take it.”
Killer run
LA completed an unbeaten run through the tournament, which started with all 30 NBA teams drawn into six groups for round-robin play, while Indiana got to the final after toppling the top two Eastern Conference teams, Boston and Milwaukee, in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
The Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns and crushed the New Orleans Pelicans in the knockout rounds.
Backed by a partisan crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Lakers led most of the game, but Indiana managed to keep it close until LA put together a 13-0 scoring run late in the fourth quarter to finally put the game away.
Davis added five assists and four blocked shots—even though he appeared to be hindered by discomfort in the hip or groin after a scramble in the second half.
LA made just two of 13 three-point attempts, but the Lakers’ inside dominance meant it didn’t matter. —AFP
