What teams made it to the NBA In-Season Tournament final four?
With the quarterfinals now behind us, it’s time to wrap up what happened so that we can take a look at what’s about to go down in the final four.
There was a whole lot of drama in the quarterfinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, which gives us the feeling that we’re in for a show when the remaining teams head to ‘Sin City’ for the semifinals. Let’s get into it.
The NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals were crazy
That they were. Across the four games that were played, we saw LeBron James continue to roll back the years, Damian Lillard prove that he’s as lethal as ever from beyond the arc, Tyrese Haliburton continue his run of excellence, and Brandon Ingram, who lit the place up. Of course, that’s just on the surface. Let’s get into the details of it all.
Lakers down Suns while Bucks roll over the Knicks
As you know by now, the NBA’s In-Season Tournament final four is set, but what a ride it was to get to this point. Let’s start with the Los Angeles Lakers who managed to secure victory on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns albeit in a controversial manner. Indeed, there are surely many today who are questioning the nature of the timeout that was issued in the last seconds of the game. Nonetheless, it’s LeBron James and Co. who will now face the New Orleans Pelicans in Las Vegas on Thursday. Incidentally, the Lakers’ 106-103 win means they are undefeated in the IST so far.
In Tuesday’s other quarterfinal, the Milwaukee Bucks dominated the visiting New York Knicks in a game that ended 146-122. With the win, the Bucks will now face the Indiana Pacers in the East semifinal on Thursday afternoon. In terms of how the game went, it was clear from start to finish that the Bucks were in the mood as the nailed 60% from beyond the arc, 23 of 38 to be precise. Of course, a major part of that came courtesy of new boy Damian Lillard who shot 71.1% from beyond the arc. Yep. Then, there was Giannis Antetokounmpo who put 35 points on the board as well as eight rebounds and 10 assists.
Pelicans show grit and Tyrese Haliburton explodes for Pacers
Where Monday night’s quarterfinal games were concerned, the Pelicans who will now face the Lakers secured their semifinal spot via an impressive 15-point first-quarter comeback to head into halftime with a 69-61 lead against the Sacramento Kings. At the center of it all was Brandon Ingram who posted 30 points on the night. “[Ingram] was incredible,” said coach Willie Green. “He put us on his shoulders and he carried us.” Ultimately, the Pelicans won the game 127-117
In the other quarterfinal game, it was the Pacers who came out on top largely due to the efforts of Tyrese Haliburton who continues to force his name into the MVP conversation. Indeed, the 23-year-old registered his first career triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists. What’s more, is that the former Iowa State star also put the final stamp on the game as well as he converted a four-play with 93 seconds left on the clock and the score tied at 105. That play allowed the Pacers to take the lead and they never looked back, finally beating the Boston Celtics 122-112 “The atmosphere was crazy,” Haliburton said. “We’re excited to be [going to Las Vegas], but we want to win.”
OK, so how does the In-Season Tournament end?
So, we’ve got the final four set with the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers facing the New Orleans Pelicans. Those games will be played on Thursday, December 7th, at 5:00 p.m. ET and 9:00 p.m. ET respectively. We’ve also got the last two of Friday’s flex games to consider, as all four of the losing teams from the quarterfinals will play on Friday night. The Knicks will be on the road to face the Celtics, while the Suns will entertain the Kings. Finally, the championship game will be played on Saturday, December 9th, at 8:30 p.m. ET.