The LA Lakers won the first edition of NBA's In-Season Tournament. They prevailed over the Indiana Pacers 123:109 to claim the honor.
In the "T-Mobile Arena" in Las Vegas, the dominance of californians in the paint proved pivotal for the victory. The Lakers had 55 rebounds to the Pacers' 32. LA was led to victory by its star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The "King" finished with a double-double - 24 points and 11 rebounds, giving 4 assists. Davis was even more dominant on the floor, finishing with an impressive double-double - 41 points and 20 boards, five of which were offensive. Austin Reeves was also extremely useful from the bench with his 28 points, and D'Angelo Russell contributed with 13.
For Indiana, Tyreese Halliburton finished with 20 points and 11 assists, and Obi Toppin and Myles Turner scored 13 and 10 respectively. The Pacers' bench scored 54 points, but their efforts were not enough for the win.
LeBron also finished the tournament with the award for Most Valuable Player of the tournament. "The fans here are amazing. They already have everything - a WNBA basketball team, they will have a baseball team soon, an NFL team, a hockey team, Formula 1 was held there recently. It's a place that loves big attractions and I think the NBA will be another great addition to this city," James said after the game, which was attended by a host of sports celebrities, including basketball Hall of Famers Julius Irving and Shaquille O'Neal, former american football Hall of Famers Tim Brown and Shannon Sharpe, as well as tennis and boxing legends Steffi Graf and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Lakers play the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, while the Pacers are up against the Detroit Pistons on the road a day earlier. /BGNES
