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Anthony Davis, Lakers pummel Pacers to win…

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Wednesday, September 4th 2024

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Lakers |
Anthony Davis, Lakers pummel Pacers to win inaugural In-Season Tournament

Davis has season highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds, Austin Reaves has 28 points and tournament MVP LeBron James has 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers dominate the paint in a 123-109 victory

Lakers star Anthony Davis celebrates a basket during the second half of their In-Season Tournament title game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Lakers star Anthony Davis celebrates a basket during the second half of their In-Season Tournament title game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Lakers star LeBron James hoists the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after they defeated the Indiana Pacers in the In-Season Tournament championship game on Saturday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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LAS VEGAS — Lakers coach Darvin Ham said ahead of Saturday night’s In-Season Tournament championship game between his team and the Indiana Pacers that he didn’t want to reveal too much of their strategy.

But the way the Lakers attacked the Pacers’ defense said everything that needed to be known about their game plan: constantly attack the paint against an Indiana team that allows points in the paint at a league-worst rate (62.5 points per game).

And the strategy worked, with the Lakers beating the Pacers, 123-109, at T-Mobile Arena to win the inaugural Tournament and NBA Cup – and roughly $7.75 million spread throughout the Lakers roster and additional monetary compensation for the coaching staff.

The Lakers attacked the heart of the Pacers’ defense repeatedly, scoring 86 points in the paint – more than they have in any other game this season – to make up for their lack of perimeter shooting (2 for 13 from 3-point range).

And when they needed to create separation down the stretch, they kept finding ways to go inside to Anthony Davis (41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots), who scored 10 consecutive points as part of a 13-0 Lakers run to give them a 115-99 lead with 3:11 remaining.

“I just try to do everything I can to win a basketball game,” said Davis, who shot 16 for 24 from the field. “Obviously, my teammates put me in a great position to be successful. This is special for us, just winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament. But we want to also win the same thing in June.”

LeBron James said of Davis during his walk-off interview: “That was a Shaq-like dominant performance. He was dominant. Big time.”

After James (24 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals) assisted Davis on a layup to give the Lakers a game-high 16-point lead, the duo let out simultaneous roars, signaling they both knew the game was fully in their hands.

“They’re a hell of a one-two punch,” Ham said. “That one or two could be either one of them on any given night. At the end of the day, they know how to take it to the next level when everything is on the line.”

Davis’ teammates know that when he gets rolling like he did Saturday, it makes them tough to beat.

“I don’t think I need to say anything,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said of Davis. “All of what he did stood for itself. When he plays like that, there’s probably not many people better than him in the league.”

James was named the In-Season Tournament MVP, which was selected by a panel of media and fan votes. Of the 20 media votes, James received 13, Davis received six and Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton received one vote.

“It’s about us coming together, winning this thing,” James said. “Records will be broken, but what’ll never be broken is to be the first team to do something.”

Reaves (season-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting) and D’Angelo Russell (13 points and seven assists) also scored in double figures for the Lakers.

“What he did [Saturday], what he’s been doing this entire season has been unbelievable,” Davis said of Reaves. “He takes a lot of pressure off us, too. We draw so much attention and he’s able to go one-on-one or playmake for himself or for the other guys. He’s meant a lot to our organization and to our team. There’s nothing that he can’t do on the offensive end, and he’s locking in defensively.”

The tournament and the title game had a combination of an NBA playoff and a one-and-done NCAA Tournament kind of atmosphere, and the Pacers and Lakers played as if their seasons were on the line in front of a star-studded crowd that included basketball Hall of Famers Julius Erving and Shaquille O’Neal, football Hall of Famers Tim Brown and Shannon Sharpe and former tennis star Steffi Graf among many others.

The Lakers’ offensive game plan also put several Pacers in foul trouble early, including starting Indiana big man Myles Turner, who fouled out with the Lakers leading 109-99 with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers became the first team to win a game despite only making two or fewer 3-pointers since the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 3, 2020.

The Lakers’ defensive strategy of getting the ball out of Haliburton’s hands in pick-and-roll situations also worked, and Cam Reddish helped set the tone defensively. They consistently sent two to the ball and trapped Haliburton, who still finished with 20 points (8-of-14 shooting) and 11 assists but didn’t find his rhythm until the second half.

“(Reddish) didn’t score a lot (nine points), but I felt like he was one of the best players on the court with the way he defended and really changed the game on that end of the floor,” Reaves said.

The Pacers were held to 36.8% shooting from the field (35 for 95) and 24.4% shooting from 3-point range (10 for 41). Bennedict Mathurin also had 20 points for the Pacers. Aaron Nesmith added 15 points, while Turner finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes.

Lakers players signed to standard NBA contracts receive $500,000 each for winning the tournament while those on the Pacers will receive $200,000. Two-way contract players receive half as much, so there was roughly $4.5 million at stake. Every player on the Lakers also received a medal.

“Any time you can be the first to win or do anything or win anything, it’s cool,” Reaves said. “The money is a good, extra bonus, but any time we get on the court and compete as a unit, we want to win regardless of the tournament or regular-season game. To be able to say that we won the first one is cool.”

Unlike previous tournament games, Saturday’s championship game won’t count in the regular-season statistics or standings, so both the Lakers (14-9) and Pacers (12-8) will play 83 games as part of the 82-game regular season.

“Shout-out to the NBA, [NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver, the crew, everybody that took this idea and made it a reality,” Ham said. “Even the way the games were interwoven into the regular season, it’s a huge shot in the arm, especially for our group, the guys we brought back, the guys we added and just playing some highly intense basketball games. It was a beautiful experience.”

The Lakers will get a couple of days off before returning to regular-season play, with their first matchup coming against the Mavericks in Dallas on Tuesday before games against the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday and Friday.

Ham said he isn’t concerned about a letdown from his team entering the road trip.

“The joy you saw is authentic, the competitiveness is authentic,” Ham said. “We know, we are well aware of what’s waiting on us on this road trip. Make no mistake about it, each and every night in this league is not easy anymore. Everybody is coming to play hard. They are going to force you to execute, force you to play with toughness and togetherness and competitiveness to secure a win. It’s not going to be a layup. I don’t think there’s a layup anywhere in the league, period.”

LOOKING AHEAD

As Commissioner Adam Silver prepared to hand James the MVP trophy, he cautioned that “it doesn’t come with a franchise.”

James bent over in laughter, but he has been serious about wanting to own an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas.

For now, he’ll more than settle for the individual honor and tournament championship.

“My enthusiasm about being here post-career, bringing a team here has not changed,” James said. “The fans are amazing here. They have everything already: WNBA team, they have a baseball team (Athletics) coming in soon, NFL team, hockey team, F1 (Formula One) was just here. This is a place that loves great attractions, and I think the NBA will be another great addition to this city.”

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