LeBron James scored thirty points to help the Los Angeles Lakers defeat New Orleans 133-89 on Thursday, setting up a championship matchup with Indiana in the first-ever NBA in-season tournament.

James, who turns 39 on December 30, was ruthlessly effective, making nine of his twelve shots from the field, including four of his four three-point attempts.

In less than 23 minutes on the court, he amassed 30 points, five rebounds, and eight assists.

James, who also took three charging fouls, was described by Lakers coach Darvin Ham as “extraordinary” and “otherworldly”.

Ham described him as “the ultimate tone-setter.” “Three charges: his energy, his body sacrificed. He established the tone for us tonight on both sides of the basketball court.”

Both teams rested their starters during the fourth quarter, and he did not play. The Lakers had fully seized over, defeating the stunned Pelicans 43–17 in the third quarter.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 27 points to lead the Pacers to a 128-119 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the first semi-final of the new tournament. The game featured 16 lead changes, seven of which came in the fourth quarter.

Myles Turner scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Haliburton added 15 assists without committing a foul.

Indiana, which was sixth in the Eastern Conference regular-season rankings, had defeated the East-leading Boston Celtics in the quarterfinals and then outperformed the 2021 NBA champion Bucks, who were led by two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo with 37 points and 10 rebounds.

For Haliburton and the Pacers, who entered Thursday’s game scoring over 128 points per game but whose chances of winning the NBA title have been virtually written off, the tournament has been a coming-out party.

“I think we’re shocking the world right now,” Haliburton declared. “Nobody expected us to be here except for the guys in the locker room.”

The Bucks led 94-91 going into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Pacers 43-28 in the third quarter. Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard scored 20 points in the second half after scoring just four points in the first.

However, with 2:19 remaining in a close fourth quarter, Turner’s put-back layup gave the Pacers a 115–112 advantage. With 49.5 seconds remaining, Haliburton increased the Pacers’ advantage to 122-114 with a layup and a step-back three-pointer.

December nonetheless

The in-season tournament has proven to be the ideal platform for the explosive Pacers, who have never won an NBA championship. It was created to provide interest to the early parts of the protracted NBA season.

“This is our first championship game,” Haliburton declared. “That will be recorded in history. However, we came here for more than just a single game—two games, even—and competition.

“We came here to win.”

It’s an opportunity for the Lakers, who are tied with the Boston Celtics for the most NBA titles in history with 17, to jump into the new battle.

James, an NBA champion four times over, stated that the Lakers will not allow it to derail their long-term objective of ending his 21st season with a championship in June.

2Listen, I’m not getting too worked up about it all, because it’s still December,” James remarked. “I know the in-season tournament has been fantastic, but it’s still December.

“But it is another game for us to get better and we want to try to win the game because we’re a team that wants to get better every single game we go out there, every quarter, every possession.”

The Pelicans withstood the Lakers’ blazing shooting start, and they helped New Orleans establish a 30-29 lead at the half thanks to their 13-8 rebounding advantage in the opening quarter.

In response, James started the second quarter with three straight three-pointers. The Lakers took a 67-54 lead at the half after he scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half in the second quarter, his highest in any quarter this year.

Six Lakers players scored in double digits, led by Anthony Davis’ 16 points and 15 rebounds and Austin Reaves’ 17 points off the bench.

“We’re continuing to get better, but the most important thing, we continue to get healthy,” added James. “Guys are supporting our defensive strategy.

“We’re helping each other, we’re sharing the ball offensively, and we’re just playing Laker basketball right now.”