2023 NBA In-Season Tournament championship game
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Event | 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament | ||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 9, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
Venue | T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||
MVP | LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) | ||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Lakers by 4.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
Referees | David Guthrie Tyler Ford Mitchell Ervin | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 19,021 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament championship game was the final game of the inaugural edition of the NBA In-Season Tournament. The game was played on December 9, 2023, in the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. A rematch of the 2000 NBA Finals, the game was contested by the Indiana Pacers of the Eastern Conference and the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference. Unlike other games, this game does not count towards the regular-season standings, nor affect the regular-season performances of the players.
The Lakers won the championship game 123–109, consequently clinching the first-ever NBA Cup title. The Lakers' Anthony Davis had a 41-point and 20-rebound game to lead the team, while LeBron James was named the In-Season Tournament MVP.
Participants
[edit]Los Angeles Lakers
[edit]This was the Lakers' second season under Darvin Ham as head coach. At the day of the championship game, the Lakers were favored by 4.5 points to win the inaugural NBA Cup by odds makers.[1] Before heading into the championship game, the Lakers were the 5th-placed team in the Western Conference with a 14–9 record.
Indiana Pacers
[edit]The Pacers knocked off the Philadelphia 76ers in group stage play, the Boston Celtics in the quarter-finals, and the Milwaukee Bucks in the semi-finals, which meant they defeated the top-three Eastern Conference team from the last season. The Pacers had the league's best offense coming into the game.[2] Before heading into the championship game, the Pacers were the 5th-placed team in the Eastern Conference with a 12–8 record in the regular season thus far.
Road to the championship game
[edit]Indiana Pacers (Eastern Conference) | Round | Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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East group B
| Group stage | West group A
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Defeated the Boston Celtics, 122–112 | Quarterfinals | Defeated the Phoenix Suns, 106–103 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 128–119 | Semifinals | Defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 133–89 |
Game summary
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Anthony_Davis_pre-game_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Anthony_Davis_pre-game_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Buddy Hield of Indiana scored the game's first basket when he hit a three-pointer. However, the Lakers quickly took control of the first quarter and led 20-15 after six minutes. After one frame, the Lakers led 34–29 with 26 points coming inside the paint.[3] The teams went into half-time with a 60-65 advantage for Los Angeles.
The second half opened up with a LeBron James and-one play, and the Lakers quickly captured a 10-point lead. Despite cutting the lead to a five-point lead at one point, the Pacers went into the fourth quarter trailing 90–82.[3]
The final quarter saw the Pacers crawl back into the game, cutting the lead down to two with 10:30 to go. However, Indiana was unable to keep up with the Lakers offense and were trailing by ten points with four and a half minute left. Indiana center Myles Turner fouled out after fouling Anthony Davis and picking up his sixth foul, with 4:09 to go in the game. Davis scored 10 straight point as part of the 13–0 run that gave the Lakers a 16-point lead with 3:11 remaining in the game.[2] By then, the Lakers comfortably played the game out. The Lakers dominated the Pacers inside, edging them with a 86–44 edge in points in the paint.[2]
The Lakers became the first team to win the NBA Cup. Anthony Davis finished with 41 points on 16-for-24 shooting, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks.[2] Davis performance was the first 40+ points, 20+ rebounds and 5+ assists performance in the 36 years,[4] and was the third Laker to achieve this feat following Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain.[5] Tyrese Haliburton finished with 20 points and 11 assists, while Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 as well.[3]
December 9 8:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. Pacific) |
Indiana Pacers 109, Los Angeles Lakers 123 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 29–34, 31–31, 22–25, 27–33 | ||
Pts: Haliburton, Mathurin 20 each Rebs: Myles Turner 7 Asts: Tyrese Haliburton 11 | Pts: Anthony Davis 41 Rebs: Anthony Davis 20 Asts: D'Angelo Russell 7 |
T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV Attendance: 19,021 Referees:
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Rosters
[edit]Los Angeles Lakers
[edit]Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indiana Pacers
[edit]Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Aftermath
[edit]LeBron James won the inaugural Most Valuable Player award, following his averages of 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, while shooting 56.8% from the field and 60.6% on threes.[7] Anthony Davis 41-point and 20-rebound performance was widely praised as a "masterpiece",[8] as James described it as a "Shaq-like performance".[4]
Commissioner Adam Silver told in a press conference after the game that he was satisfied with the inaugural In-Season Tournament and is open to changes to the format, including the tie-breakers in the group play and the alternate colored courts that were used during the tournament.[9]
On December 19, the Lakers celebrated their win by hanging a championship banner in the Crypto.com Arena to honour their In-Season Tournament victory, ahead of their regular season game against the New York Knicks.[10][11] The Lakers made the playoffs as the seventh seed through the play-ins and were eliminated in the first round by the defending champions Denver Nuggets.[12] The sixth-seeded Pacers went on to reach the Eastern Conference finals, where they were eventually eliminated by the Boston Celtics the eventual NBA Champions.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ "NBA betting: How to bet Saturday's in-season tournament championship". ESPN.com. December 8, 2023. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Lakers take NBA Cup as AD explodes for 41-20". ESPN.com. December 10, 2023. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ a b c East, Tony (December 9, 2023). "Indiana Pacers overpowered by Los Angeles Lakers in In-Season Tournament Finals". Sports Illustrated Indiana Pacers news, analysis and more. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Acedera, Shane Garry (December 10, 2023). "LeBron James' description of Anthony Davis' game in the IST Finals: "That was a Shaq-like dominant performance"". basketballnetwork.net. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ Ganglani, Nicole (December 11, 2023). "Records Anthony Davis achieved after 41-20-5-4 NBA Cup Finals performance". Basketball Network - Your daily dose of basketball. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Dec 9, 2023 Game Summary". www.nba.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ "LeBron James wins first-ever In-Season Tournament MVP". NBA.com. December 10, 2023. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ "'Masterpiece' from Anthony Davis powers Lakers to win first-ever NBA in-season tournament". Fox Sports. December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Commissioner Adam Silver happy with success of In-Season Tournament, open to changes". NBA.com. December 10, 2023. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ Joseph, Samuel (December 19, 2023). "LA Lakers unveil In-Season Tournament Championship banner but the New York Knicks spoil the party". CNN. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ "Lakers to hang banner for in-season tournament championship". Yahoo Sports. December 11, 2023. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Lakers eliminated by Nuggets in Game 5 on Jamal Murray's final shot". Los Angeles Times. April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Jaylen Brown, Celtics use experience to eliminate Pacers, advance to NBA Finals". Yahoo Sports. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.