LeBron James sets another mark as Lakers wallop Pelicans

The Lakers, led by LeBron James, took a lopsided 133-89 victory against the Pelicans in the NBA In-Season Tournament’s Western Conference semifinal matchup. Indeed, it seems like every other game in his 21st NBA season, LeBron breaks another record, as notably in Thursday’s win, he became the first player in NBA history to score 30+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in 23 minutes or less of playing time.

LeBron’s 30 points through three quarters came off of 9-for-12 shooting from the field, while going 4-for-4 from three-point range, and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. So that is to say after an efficient scoring night, LeBron also now holds the Lakers’ franchise record for fewest minutes played while scoring 30 points (22:32), which was previously a record (22:56) held by Nick Young (2014).

Not to mention, with LeBron’s sensational performance, he just happened to break another record, as he now holds the highest number of games (nine) with a minimum of 30 points, eight assists and zero turnovers.

There was certainly a show put on for the fans at T-Mobile Arena, with LeBron sinking a ‘heat check’ 30-foot long distance running pull-up shot, which was his third 3-pointer in a row, in the span of one minute, during the second quarter.

To point out, LeBron logged 18 points in the second quarter, giving the Lakers a 67-54 lead going into halftime. This momentum continued as the Lakers came out in the third quarter and outscored the Pelicans 43-17, moreover, this blowout lead allowed LeBron and the Lakers’ starters to get some rest ahead of their championship game this Saturday.

The Lakers (14-9) now improve to 6-0 in the In-Season Tournament and move up to fourth in the Western Conference standings. In particular, after tonight’s 44-point win, LeBron credited the team’s defense which held the Pelicans to a 35.8 FG%.

“I think we came out with a defensive mindset,” James said. “You know when we defend, we are going to give ourselves a good chance to win any ball game… guys are buying into what we want to do defensively… we are just playing Laker basketball right now.” 

LeBron has set the tone, as he made an effort to assert a defensive mindset throughout the NBA In-Season Tournament, and this was seen when he lined up to take three charges tonight, including two on the 285-pound Zion Williamson. 38-year-old LeBron, who turns 39 in a few weeks, was asked by reporter J.A. Adande after the game, “Aren’t you a little old to be taking charges in December?” to which LeBron responded, “Not for that $500,000 I ain’t.” 

As a reminder, every player on the winning championship team will be rewarded with a $500,000 bonus.

Being that, this prize money will be fought over between the Lakers and the Indiana Pacers, who defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the other semifinal matchup earlier in the day, led by Tyrese Haliburton’s 27 points and 15 assists. The Lakers and Pacers will meet in Saturday’s In-Season Tournament championship game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, at 8:30 PM ET.