LeBron leads Lakers to IST championship matchup
Las Vegas — The Los Angeles Lakers are moving on to the In-Season Tournament championship to face the Indiana Pacers after a dominating 133-89, 44-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
The commanding performance was largely thanks to Father Time's worst enemy, LeBron James, who exploded for 18 points in the second quarter. The 38-year-old finished with a game-high 30 points on 4-for-4 from three and 9-for-12 overall in just 22 minutes of action.
“He’s the ultimate tone-setter,” head coach Darvin Ham said on LeBron. “He set an unbelievable tone on both sides of the basketball for us tonight and his teammates just followed suit.”
LeBron's continued display of high level has put him in the first-ever IST Tournament championship game with the opportunity to claim the Cup and more importantly, 500,000 reasons to celebrate, which would add more to his already historic resume.
The Lakers surged past the Pelicans in the second half, outscoring them 66–35, as they collectively shot 48.6% from 3-point range, sinking 17 out of 35 attempts and finished with a 54.7% (47 for 86) field goal percentage.
This is the Lakers' largest win since their 55-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Anthony Davis finished his second straight game with 15 rebounds, grabbing 15 rebounds and scoring 16 points on 5-of-10 finishing from the field. He also finished with a four-stock night with two blocks and two steals in his efforts.
LeBron and Davis were two of six Lakers to score in double figures, including four starters and two bench players.
Taurean Prince was L.A.’s leading 3-point shooter on 5-for-8 shooting from deep, finishing with 15 points.
Austin Reaves finished with a bench-high 17 points on 3-for-6 shooting from deep and 5-for-9 overall, with seven assists and five rebounds in 23 minutes.
D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura were the remaining players to have double-digits in scoring. Russell finished with 14 points in 21 minutes and Hachimura finished with 12 points in 21 off the bench.
The Lakers will face the Pacers for the IST Championship on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 5:30 p.m. PST at T-Mobile Arena for the NBA Cup and $500,000 for each player.
