Pacers, Lakers into NBA in-season final
REUTERS – Bruce Brown gave Indiana the lead for good with 6:15 remaining, Tyrese Haliburton capped a monster performance with a back-breaking 3-pointer, and the Pacers surprised the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 Thursday in the semifinals of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament in Las Vegas.
The victory places the Pacers in tonight’s final against the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the New Orleans Pelicans 133-89 in Thursday’s other semifinal.
Haliburton finished with a team-high 27 points and a game-high 15 assists for the Pacers, who had beaten the Boston Celtics at home in Tuesday’s quarterfinals to earn the trip to Las Vegas.
Myles Turner also notched a double-double for Indiana with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Buddy Hield grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to go with eight points.
Going 13-for-19 from the field and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 37 points to complement a team-high 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who earned a flight west by beating the New York Knicks at home in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, LeBron James recorded 30 points and eight assists to lead the Lakers to a victory over the Pelicans.
Austin Reaves had 17 points and seven assists, and Anthony Davis added 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the 11th time in their past 15 games.
Trey Murphy III scored 14 points and Zion Williamson added 13 for the Pelicans. Herbert Jones added 10 points and seven rebounds as New Orleans lost for the fourth time in its past seven games.
Brandon Ingram had just nine points on 4-of-13 shooting for the Pelicans. New Orleans hit 35.8 percent of its shots and was 7-of-31 from behind the arc.
Taurean Prince scored 15 points, D’Angelo Russell had 14 and Rui Hachimura added 12 for the Lakers, who made 54.7 percent of their shots and 17 of 35 from 3-point range.