The Pacers & Lakers Will Compete For the NBA Cup!

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        We are down to the final two teams of the In-Season Tournament. The Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers will compete for the first ever NBA Cup. The last time we saw the Pacers and Lakers face off in a big stage ball game was in the 2000 NBA Finals. The NBA Cup championship game will take place this Saturday, December 9th, at 8:30 PM ET on TNT. 



        The Indiana Pacers took on the Milwaukee Bucks in the SemiFinals round and this game announced the arrival of Tyrese Haliburton. It was a tight game, especially in the second-half however the Pacers hit some key buckets to pull away and take the victory (Pacers 128, Bucks 119). Haliburton is showing that he is an up-and-coming superstar in the NBA. Haliburton scored 27 points shooting 11 of 19 from the field (58%) and 3 of 9 from 3-point range (33%), 7 rebounds, 15 assists with 0 turnovers and a steal. Haliburton and the Pacers are surprising the league but they have made it known that they are legit and they are dangerous. 



        The Los Angeles Lakers took on the New Orleans Pelicans and there's some history with this matchup. Anthony Davis was drafted by the Pelicans back in 2012 but after seven years with the organization and losing, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019 which included Brandon Ingram. In this game, the Lakers were just in full control and they destroyed the Pelicans (Lakers 133, Pelicans 89). LeBron James continues to put up a great fight against Father Time as he scored 30 points shooting 9 of 12 from the field (75%) and 4 of 4 from 3-point range (100%), 5 rebounds and 8 assists with 0 turnovers. 



        The In-Season tournament has been a huge success this season given the ratings, the entertainment and the level of competitiveness we have seen from the players. Taking the NBA to Vegas has also shown great success especially given the expansion talks that have been floating around these past couple years. Obviously the NBA will look the make improvements to the In-Season Tournament, more specifically about the point differential since many players have voiced how they don't like how that factors in the Tournament standings but for the most part it has been a huge success. The championship matchup is set between the Pacers and Lakers and it's going to be must-see TV. 
Location: Miami, FL, USA

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