ANTHONY Davis caught fire in the endgame to steer Los Angeles Lakers to NBA In-Season Tournament championship with a 123-109 victory over Indiana Pacers on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Holding to a slim 102-99 lead, the Lakers got a triple from Cam Reddish and 10 straight points from Davis as they pulled away at 115-99 with over two minutes left.
The Pacers tried to make a run to cut the deficit to 13 points, but conversions from Austin Reaves and Davis increased the Lakers lead back to 123-108 with a minute and a half remaining.
Davis finished with a double-double of 41 points and 20 rebounds to go with five assists and four blocks as the Lakers became the first-ever NBA In-Season tourney crown.
Reaves chipped in 28 markers, with 21 coming in the first half, LeBron James posted a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds and DAngelo Russell contributed 13 points for the Lakers.
The Lakers surged to a 20-13 start behind early conversions by Davis and Russell, but the Pacers managed to keep the match close at 29-34 entering the second frame.
The Pacers managed to keep in step with the Lakers in the second period as they cut the deficit to 54-56, but Reaves responded with consecutive baskets to give the Lakers a 65-60 halftime lead.
The Lakers created separation from the Pacers in the third frame with inside hits from Davis and James and triples from Taurean Prince for a 90-79 advantage.
Indiana, however, opened the fourth quarter strong with outside hits from Tyrese Haliburton and attacks from Bennedict Mathurin to cut the deficit to 99-102 midway through the quarter.
Haliburton and Mathurin finished with 20 markers apiece, Aaron Nesmith and Obi Toppin added 15 and 13, respectively, while Isaiah Jackson and Myles Turner ended with 10 points each for Indiana./PN
BOX SCORE:
LOS ANGELES 123 — Davis 41, Reaves 28, James 24, Russell 13, Reddish 9, Prince 6, Christie 2, Hachimura 0, Vanderbilt 0, Hayes 0, Lewis 0, Hood-Schifino 0.
INDIANA 109 — Haliburton 20, Mathurin 20, Nesmith 15, Toppin 13, Jackson 10, Turner 10, Hield 8, McConnell 8, B. Brown 4, Tsiebwe 1, Walker 0, Sheppard 0, Wong 0, K. Brown 0.
Quarterscores: 34-29, 65-60, 90-82, 123-109.
