Push Admin

Davis, James power Lakers to inaugural NBA Cup crown

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis raises the NBA Cup trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers in the NBA In-Season Tournament championship final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, December 9, 2023. Allison Dinner, EPA-EFE." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/12/10/12102023-davis,-james-power-lakers-to-inaugural-nba-cup-crown_epa.jpg"/><figcaption>Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis raises the NBA Cup trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers in the NBA In-Season Tournament championship final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, December 9, 2023. <em>Allison Dinner, EPA-EFE</em>.</figcaption></figure></div><p>LAS VEGAS -- The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by a monster game from Anthony Davis, beat the upstart Indiana Pacers 123-109 to win the first edition of the NBA in-season tournament on Saturday.</p><p>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 the first NBA Cup to the club trophy case.</p><p>For the league&#x27;s all-time leading scorer James, it was a brand new accolade in the 21st season of a career that has included four NBA titles and four NBA Most Valuable Player awards.</p><p>The 38-year-old got the nod as MVP of the tournament.</p><p>&quot;We made history,&quot; James said as he celebrated on court with his teammates. &quot;Anytime you&#x27;re on the right side of history, you take it.</p><p>&quot;The first in-season tournament belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers.&quot;</p><div><strong>HIGHLIGHTS:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pxHZ2Iai4yQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>Led by Davis and James, the Lakers out-muscled the Pacers, never letting them get their high-octane offense to fully fire.</p><p>They out-scored the Pacers 86-44 in the paint and got the better of them on the boards 55-32.</p><p>&quot;We wanted to be the first to win this,&quot; Davis said. &quot;We know it&#x27;s not the real thing, but we keep taking steps in the right direction.</p><p>&quot;The first to do it, we&#x27;ll take it.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/09/23/lebron-lakers-battle-haliburtons-pacers-for-first-nba-cup">&#x27;King&#x27; James and Lakers battle Haliburton&#x27;s Pacers for first NBA Cup</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/08/23/lakers-crush-pelicans-to-reach-nba-cup-final">Lakers crush Pelicans to reach NBA Cup final</a></li></ul><p>The Lakers completed an unbeaten run through the tournament, which started with all 30 NBA teams drawn into six groups for round-robin play.</p><p>All games, except Saturday&#x27;s final, counted toward the regular-season standings, and James said the Lakers&#x27; performance as the event ramped up the intensity in what can be a lackluster part of the long NBA season would only help them when the time comes to make a playoff push.</p><p>&quot;I think every moment we grew,&quot; James said. &quot;The in-season tournament, 7-0, it&#x27;s been high-intensity games and we&#x27;ve just grown.</p><p>&quot;I feel like guys have felt a lot more comfortable in their roles. We&#x27;ve had a pretty good understanding of rotations. You know who you&#x27;re going to be playing with and you know what you guys want to do out on the floor.&quot;</p><p>The Pacers also came into the Cup title game unbeaten, having toppled the top two Eastern Conference Teams, Boston and Milwaukee, in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/28yVcLyIFKI?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Sick, frustrated&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was a revelation, but his 20 points and 11 assists on Saturday weren&#x27;t nearly enough against the determined and experienced Lakers.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re sick, frustrated,&quot; Haliburton said. &quot;We just got outplayed tonight from the start of the game to the end of the game. Just didn&#x27;t do the job on loose balls, didn&#x27;t rebound, didn&#x27;t get enough stops when needed. They just outplayed us, and it&#x27;s frustrating.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/08/23/upstart-pacers-topple-bucks-to-reach-nba-cup-final">Upstart Pacers topple Bucks to reach NBA Cup final</a></li></ul><p>The Lakers, backed by a partisan crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, led most of the game, but Indiana managed to keep it close until Los Angeles put together a 13-0 scoring run late in the fourth quarter to finally put the game away.</p><p>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.</p><p>The Lakers, fueled by 17 points and 11 rebounds from Davis, led 65-60 at halftime. Austin Reaves piled up 22 of his 28 points off the bench in the first half.</p><p>Los Angeles made just two of 13 three-point attempts, but their dominance inside meant it didn&#x27;t matter.</p><p>They held the Pacers, who came in averaging more than 128 points per game, to 36.8 percent shooting.</p><p>The Lakers pushed the lead to 11 three times in the third quarter but the Pacers, true to form, wouldn&#x27;t go away.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NJNSgOE0AvE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>An alley-oop dunk by Davis, fed by James, put Los Angeles up 90-79 with 35.5 seconds left in the third. But the Pacers pounced on a James turnover with 2.8sec left in the period and Mathurin made a three-pointer that cut the Lakers&#x27; lead to 90-82 heading into the final period.</p><p>A 7-2 run to start the fourth had the Pacers right back in it, but the Lakers just wouldn&#x27;t be denied.</p><p>Now, Davis said, they&#x27;ll get back to the more familiar rhythm of the regular season.</p><p>&quot;Even though it&#x27;s a big performance, it&#x27;s another game and we&#x27;ve got to continue to get going starting back on Tuesday,&quot; he said.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the upstart Indiana Pacers 123-109 to win the first edition of the NBA in-season tournament on Saturday.