LAS VEGAS.- Anthony Davis set personal highs for the campaign with 41 points and 20 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday they won the inaugural edition in the NBA Cup after beating the 123-109 Indiana Pacers in the end.
Austin Reaves added 28 points, Lebron James – he Most valuable Player of the tournament — contributed 24 points and 11 rebounds and D’Angelo Russell added 13 units. Davis made 16 of 24 field goals, along with five assists.
“They are quite a double whammy,” said the Lakers coach, Darvin Ham, about James and Davis. “Any one of them could be first or second on any night. In the end, They know how to take it to the next level when everything is at stake”.
Tyrese Haliburton added 20 points and 11 assists for Indiana, Benedict Mathurin He also scored 20 points and Aaron Nesmith added 15.
This game was the only one in the secondary tournament in the middle of the season that did not count towards the standings, but the stakes were high. In addition to raising a trophy, the players of the Lakers with a dual contract they took $500,000 each and the Pacers They pocketed 200,000 a head.
Although the importance did not reach the edges of the playoffs, the tournament and the championship game preserved that time of atmosphere for a public that mostly encouraged the Lakers.
And it was another trophy for James, who has a collection of four championships in the NBAand the star did not hide his desire to add another laurel.
Tough task for the Lakers:
In the Pacersthe Lakers They ran into a motivated rival led by a rising star in the league. Haliburton stood out in this tournament, but Los Angeles knew how to limit him on Saturday. With Cam Reddish In charge of guarding Haliburton, the Indiana player often had to give the ball to a teammate to avoid forcing things.
“Tonight they outplayed us from the beginning of the game to the end of the gameHaliburton said. “We simply didn’t deliver on turnovers or rebounds, we couldn’t stop when we needed to. “They just played better and it’s frustrating.”
FOUNTAIN: AP
