NBA Cup: LeBron James wins IST MVP as Los Angeles Lakers hold off Indiana Pacers for debut title

CNN
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LeBron James lifted both the NBA Cup and the MVP award for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament (IST) as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the upstart Indiana Pacers, 123-109, in Las Vegas.

Led by a monster performance from Anthony Davis – who racked up 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks on the night – and a solid defensive effort, the Lakers managed to win an entertaining final where, despite always leading after going up 13-11 four minutes into the game, they could not shake off the persistent Pacers.

While the Lakers offense did its part, shooting 53.4% from the field, it was the defense which ultimately won the game, holding what was an efficient and impressive Indiana offense during the IST to 36.8% shooting from the floor.

However, despite Los Angeles leading by as many as 11 late in the third, the Pacers – pushed on by newfound NBA star Tyrese Haliburton, who had 20 points and 11 assists – kept fighting back, cutting the lead to as little as three multiple times in the fourth quarter.

But led by a strong defensive effort in the final six minutes of the game and Davis, who had 14 points in the final period, the Lakers slowly pulled away to win the first ever NBA Cup.

James and Austin Reaves, who had 24 and 28 points on the night respectively, rounded out the strong LA offense that powered the Purple and Gold to even more NBA history on Saturday night.

After the game, LeBron, who was awarded the IST MVP for his strong tournament-wide performances, was asked about Davis’ performance in the final and indicated the pair know each other’s capability to step up on any given night.

“I know who I am, he knows who he is, so there’s no friction. We’re not trying to compete with one another on the court or on a lifestyle basis. He knows who he is, I know who I am,” James said after the final, per ESPN.

“The only thing we’re trying to do is hold each other accountable when we get to work and try to be the best we can be for each other, and when one is not going well, try to pick each other up,” the four-time NBA champion added. “There’s no jealousy. There’s not a jealous bone in our bodies. We’re never jealous of one another. Ever.”

Davis concurred, adding that LeBron has pushed the Lakers big man to succeed on multiple occasions like Saturday night’s explosion.

“He’ll say things like, ‘Let’s get AD going.’ Or, ‘Run this for AD.’ He’s doing a good job of making sure that I get my touches to have an opportunity to take over ballgames like tonight,” Davis said, per ESPN.

“He just knows me. … I just had that look tonight and he said, ‘I’m going to follow your lead.’ And he was able to, and the team was able to allow me be the guy and just feed off of it.”

While it was all smiles in the Lakers locker room, Haliburton was left to rue what could have been – in addition to the trophy, a $500,000 payday awaited for each member of the winning squad – noting that the atmosphere in Las Vegas was “like a playoff-type deal” and that had a slight effect on the result.

“Yeah, we’re sick, frustrated. We just got outplayed tonight from the start of the game to the end of the game. Just didn’t do the job on loose balls, didn’t rebound, didn’t get enough stops when needed. They just outplayed us, and it’s frustrating,” the star said, according to ESPN.

“This doesn’t have a regular-season feel at all. I’m used to playing LeBron whatever he plays, 30, 35 minutes. It felt like him and AD never came off the floor. It was like a playoff-type deal.”

“I’m going for it,” James said of his thought process ahead of the championship game, seemingly proving Haliburton right. “Yeah, why not? Why not? One game? Me and one game, I’m going for it. For sure.”

When it comes down to it, it seems you should never bet against LeBron James and making history.