By routing the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday in the semifinal round of the NBA in-season tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers earned the right to face the Indiana Pacers for the first NBA Cup on Saturday.
LeBron James continues to make a mockery of Father Time by playing brilliant basketball as he nears his 39th birthday. On Thursday, he shot an incredible 9-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range to score 30 points, to go along with eight assists in just 23 minutes. He scored 18 of those 30 points in the second quarter as L.A. took control and seemingly took the life out of New Orleans.
Facing Indiana means dealing with 23-year-old Tyrese Haliburton, who is becoming one of the game’s newest stars. He’s averaging 26.9 points and a league-high 12.1 assists a game this season, and he’s leading a Pacers offense that’s leading everyone with 128.4 points a game.
Haliburton said he grew up as a big fan of James and that he’s looking forward to competing against the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Haliburton on facing LeBron:
"Like any kid born in 2000, LeBron was my favorite player growing up. … To be able to compete against him in a championship is a storybook and it's gonna be a lot of fun!" pic.twitter.com/vB12aIpiJF
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 8, 2023
The Lakers have been playing well defensively of late, but they will have to really step up against a fast-breaking, fire-breathing Pacers team in order to win the in-season tournament.
