LeBron James scored 30 points in less than three quarters as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 133-89 on Thursday night to go to the NBA In-Season Tournament championship game.

On Saturday night, the Lakers will face the surprise Indiana Pacers for the inaugural NBA Cup. In the other semifinal, Indiana defeated the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 128-119. That game, unlike the others in the tournament, will not be counted in the regular-season rankings.

For Los Angeles, Austin Reaves had 17 points, Anthony Davis had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Taurean Prince had 15 points.

Trey Murphy III scored 14 points to lead the Pelicans. Herbert Jones had ten points while Zion Williamson had thirteen.

Lakers Went “nuts” after First Half

New Orleans led 30-29 at the first courter  , but James began the second quarter by scoring the Lakers' first 11 points, including three 3-pointers in a row. The final two came from the league and tournament logos, which enthralled the Lakers fans. At one point, the nearly 39 year old great even took a charge.

He scored 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting at halftime. Midway through the third quarter, James went to the bench, which should give him plenty of energy for the championship.

Los Angeles have won three games in a row and four of their last five. The Pelicans had previously won three of their previous four games.

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