Ja Morant is prioritising having fun after he helped the Memphis Grizzlies to a 116-103 win over the Indiana Pacers.

On his first home game back from his eight-month suspension from the NBA, Morant had 20 points and eight assists as the Grizzlies won a second game on the bounce.

Having starred on his first game back to help Memphis snap a five-game losing streak, Morant's first aim on the court on Thursday was to ensure his team were enjoying their basketball.

"The tough part was not being able to be out there and enjoy and have fun with my guys, but now that I'm out there, I'm making sure that we're all having fun no matter what," Morant said.

"So that was pretty much just my message. You could just tell by the energy of the team.

"We catch a lob, you got the bench going crazy, you got the players screaming, yelling, dapping each other up. That's our type of basketball. That's how we are. That's the team we are, the people we are."

Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 31 points, adding six rebounds and seven assists, while Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 21 points to Memphis' tally.

"Having those two guys alongside of me who can pretty much go and score the ball at will at different levels is big time for us," Morant added.

The excitement inside the FedExForum was palpable, with the home fans eager to see Morant back.

"It was great to feel that," said Bane.

"We've had several home games that weren't like that this season. Obviously, getting Ja back, everybody's super excited.

"You got to play the game with a lot of joy, and when you're losing and down, sometimes it's hard to find that spirit and that swag.

"But regardless, winning, losing, up, down, you got to have that fire and that fight. And I think we got that now."

The Pacers have been in poor form since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the final of the NBA's in-season tournament in Las Vegas, though did come into Thursday's game on the back of a resounding win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Pacers head Rick Carlisle said: "Overall, this was a tough game for a lot of reasons.

"We didn't play well, but we kept competing. I was really proud of the way the team kept their poise and their aggression.

"We got unlucky with some miscues and some missed shots."

Rick Carlisle lamented an "ugly" performance from the Indiana Pacers after his team lost to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Pacers went down 151-127 to the Clippers on Monday, suffering a fourth straight defeat.

Since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the final of the NBA's in-season tournament, Indiana have won just one game, with that victory coming against the struggling Detroit Pistons.

And Carlisle pointed to a mentality shift being required if the Pacers are to turn things around.

"Tonight was ugly. It's just something that's not acceptable," he said after the Clippers game.

"I don't care how talented they are, or anything else, we just allowed them to really do whatever they wanted to do. I've got to take responsibility for not having these guys ready to play.

"We've got a huge target on our back because of winning some games in the tournament. The Pacers aren't sneaking up on anybody.

"But our mindset, if it's shifted to just simply trying to outscore teams and away from any kind of emphasis defensively, that's got to stop. If it means massive lineup changes, then that's what will happen."

"We're missing some of our best defenders right now, that doesn't help. But it's not a valid excuse. We're making a lot of mistakes, and we just need to do it better and we need to do it harder."

Carlisle did, however, refuse to accept full responsibility for the slump, putting the onus on the Pacers' star players.

"Our best players have to understand and they have to believe that the little things are important," he added.

"That concentration and focus are extremely important. And so when the best players believe it, they preach it and it becomes gospel. It can't just be the coach."

Tyrese Haliburton, who managed just eight points, echoed Carlisle's sentiment, saying: "I think that we got to where we were by just playing harder than people. And we’re not doing that right now. So the switch has to flip here, pretty quick."

While the Pacers are on a skid, the Clippers are in fine form, having now won their last eight games. It is the team's longest winning streak since a 10-game run in the 2015-16 season.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden ran the Pacers ragged, with the latter scoring 18 of his game-leading 35 points in the fourth quarter.

"It was fun to watch," Leonard, who had 28 points, said of Harden's fourth-quarter charge.

"We're not trying to play the score. We're trying to win the quarters. And even if we have 20 points, we've still got to do our jobs and be efficient."

Harden, who also added nine assists, said: "We're playing very, very well right now, so we just have to stay consistent in what we do. Every game is a new challenge for us as a unit.

"We're figuring it out, we're coming together, our chemistry is building game by game. There's a long way to go but we're definitely headed in the right direction."

James Harden scored a season-high 35 points to lead the scorching Los Angeles Clippers to an eighth consecutive win with Monday's 151-127 blowout of the Indiana Pacers.

Kawhi Leonard added 28 points and Paul George had 27 as the Clippers' two other stars also had big nights to keep the league's hottest team rolling. Harden chipped in nine assists as well, while Ivica Zubac compiled an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double.

The Clippers took control with a 10-0 second-quarter run that gave them a 67-57 lead with under 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half, then headed into the break with a 77-66 advantage.

Los Angeles then outscored the Pacers by a 37-28 margin in the third quarter to stretch the margin further, and Harden ended any hopes of an Indiana comeback by putting up 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the fourth.

The Pacers lost their fourth straight game despite a career-high 34 points from Bennedict Mathurin. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana's leading scorer for the season, dished out 11 assists but was held to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. 

Nuggets blow out Mavericks in clash of West contenders

Jamal Murray scored 22 points, Aaron Gordon tied a season high with 21, and the Denver Nuggets cruised to a 130-104 win over the short-handed Dallas Mavericks in a showdown between two of the Western Conference's top teams.

The defending NBA champion Nuggets shot 56.3 per cent from the field and led from start to finish en route to a fourth victory in five games. Reggie Jackson delivered 20 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting, while Gordon finished 7 of 9 and Murray was perfect on four attempts from 3-point range.

Dallas got 38 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Dončić, but couldn't overcome the absence of fellow star Kyrie Irving as well as key contributors Josh Green and Dereck Lively and lost for the second time in three games.

Gordon had 16 first-half points as the Nuggets took a 68-59 lead into the break, then extended their advantage to 20 points after a 10-0 run late in the third quarter put the Mavericks at a 94-74 deficit.

Denver then rested its entire starting lineup in the fourth quarter while building a lead as large as 36 points.

Bulls continue surge, snap 76ers' six-game winning streak

Coby White racked up 24 points, eight rebounds and nine assists as the Chicago Bulls continued their recent hot play and cooled off the Philadelphia 76ers with a 108-104 victory.

Chicago has now won six of its last nine games following a 5-14 start despite two-time All-Star Zach LaVine being sidelined by a foot injury. Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who had a 12-point lead after three quarters reduced to one late before holding on.

The 76ers had a six-game winning streak halted despite another huge performance from Joel Embiid, who totalled 40 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. 

Tyrese Maxey added 29 points and eight assists, but no other Philadelphia player managed more than eight points.

White had 16 first-half points as Chicago took a 55-44 lead into the break. Chicago was up 81-69 entering the fourth quarter before the 76ers rallied late to pull within 105-104 on a Maxey 3-pointer with 33.2 seconds left.

Embiid misfired on two shots afterward, though, and Chicago's DeMar DeRozan sealed the game by making three of four free throws in the final stages.

Giannis Antetokounmpo suggested the Indiana Pacers may have taken the game ball that should have come his way after his 64-point haul on Wednesday.

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Pacers 140-126, with Antetokounmpo recording a franchise record in the process.

He surpassed the previous record haul for a Buck, set by Michael Redd in 2006. Antetokounmpo's previous career high was 55, set against the Washington Wizards in January.

However, Antetokounmpo was angered when the Pacers apparently took the game ball and headed for the locker room, and a scuffle then broke out.

And the 29-year-old is unsure whether the ball he received was actually the one used in the game.

"I have no idea. I'm not going to lie, I have no idea – I really don't know," he said.

"I have a ball but I don’t know if it’s the game ball. It doesn't feel like the game ball to me – it feels like a brand new ball.

"I played 35 minutes, I know how the game ball felt. The ball I have, which I'll take and I'll give it to my mum for sure, doesn't [feel like the game ball].

"But it's okay, life will continue. I've never seen this before. I don't know if I have the game ball.

"I know they [the Pistons] had the game ball. I don't think [that], I know." 

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle claimed there had been a "misunderstanding" at the end of the game.

He said: "What happened after the game was unfortunate. There was a misunderstanding about the game ball.

"It was Oscar Tshiebwe's first official NBA point, so we always get the game ball. We were not thinking about Giannis' franchise record, so we grabbed the ball.

"A couple of minutes later, several of their players ended up in our hallway, and there was a big, I don't know what to call it – a fracas, melee, whatever. I don't think any punches were landed, but my general manager got elbowed in the ribs by one of their players."

Antetokounmpo added 14 rebounds, was 20 of 28 from the field in this one and went 24 of 32 on free throws.

"It's a great feeling. It’s a great feeling, being able to do it," Antetokounmpo said.

"As much as I can, I try to play basketball for the right reason, I try to play basketball to win, try to play basketball to help my teammates be great, but at the end of the day, being able to break this record in front of the fans here in this stadium, it's a great feeling, too."

Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said: "He's an unstoppable player. You can't guard him one-on-one. You've got some really good guys surrounding him, but at the end of the day, it's all him.

"His talent. His ability. His will. He has an incredible will to win, and he'll do whatever it takes to win. I'm just coaching the game and one of the coaches told me, 'Yeah, Giannis has 50. I had no idea.' But wow, what a great performance."

Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in a franchise-record 64 points on Wednesday in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 140-126 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Antetokounmpo surpassed the team record of 57 points set by Michael Redd in 2006 in a loss to the Utah Jazz. The previous career high for the Milwaukee superstar was 55 points in a victory over the Washington Wizards on Jan. 3.

He was 20 of 28 from the field in this one, 24 of 32 on free throws and had 14 rebounds.

Damian Lillard added 21 points and Bobby Portis had 13 for the Bucks, who lost to the Pacers in the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament on Thursday.

Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner each scored 22 points for Indiana, which had won four in a row, excluding a loss to the Lakers in the championship game of the tournament on Saturday.

Antetokounmpo was tackled by Aaron Nesmith on a play underneath with 10:10 left, setting off a brief exchange involving several players. Nesmith was called for a flagrant-1, and Nesmith and Portis were assessed technical fouls.

Embiid, 76ers deal Pistons 21st straight loss

Joel Embiid scored 30 of his 41 points in the first half as the Philadelphia 76ers sent the Detroit Pistons to their 21st straight loss, 129-11 on Wednesday to open a home-and-home series.

The Pistons, who haven’t won since Oct. 28, matched the longest losing streak in franchise history, set at the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81. It is the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in NBA history.

Only the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 76ers (26 in a row), along with the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and the 2010-11 Charlotte Bobcats (23 straight) have lost more consecutive games in a season.

Philadelphia holds the overall mark of 28, set at the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.

Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with a season-high 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting.

Former Piston Tobias Harris had 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 for the 76ers, winners of four straight.

Davis, Lakers hold off Wembanyama, Spurs

Anthony Davis scored 37 points and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame Victor Wembanyama’s big night in a 122-119 victory, extending the Spurs’ franchise-record losing streak to 18.

Davis rolled his left ankle in the opening seconds but refused to exit and went on to shoot 10 for 15 from the field and score 24 points in the first half.

Taurean Prince had 17 points and Austin Reaves added 15 to help the Lakers win for the fifth time in six games despite missing LeBron James, who sat out the first of two straight games in San Antonio because of a left calf injury.

Wembanyama had 30 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, but the Spurs have remained winless since Nov. 2. He became the first rookie with 30 points, 10 boards and six blocks in a game since Spurs superstar Tim Duncan in 1998.

Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams conceded a franchise-record losing streak "hurts like you can't believe", although the San Antonio Spurs face a similar plight of their own.

Williams' Pistons were 131-123 losers against the Indiana Pacers on Monday as Detroit fell to their 20th straight loss in NBA.

That marks the worst single-season losing run in Detroit's franchise history and the longest in NBA records since the Houston Rockets fell to 20 straight defeats in 2020-21.

The Pistons have lost 21 in a row before, although that came between the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of the 1980-81 campaign, but Williams was somewhat encouraged with his team's showing against the Pacers.

"As much as this losing hurts us, and it hurts like you can't believe, I see a lot of growth," Williams said.

"I'm encouraged by some of the things we saw tonight. We just need to build on them."

Williams suggested the Pistons' approach towards halftime was their downfall as the Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin added five of his 30-point game in a 9-0 run to close the second quarter.

"I thought the way we closed to half-time was something that kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit," Williams added.

"We're still learning that everything we do in the meat of the game has an effect on the end."

Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson were rare bright sparks, scoring 23 and 20 points respectively for the Pistons, whose 20-game run equalled the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in NBA history,

San Antonio have endured similar woes, too, setting their own franchise record after a 17th consecutive defeat following a 93-82 at the hands of the Rockets.

Victor Wembanyama led the way with 15 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks but was 1-of-6 on his three-point attempts for the Spurs, whose offense went missing in their time of need.

"They played their ass off. They played a great game," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "You've got to make a shot in the NBA. You can't shoot five for 41 from three.

"They did a hell of a job defensively, in that regard. Really proud of them. But just feel badly that it's hard to know what to do when you're missing that many shots. It just makes it very, very difficult."

Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell combined to go for just 1-of-18 from deep, although the latter believes San Antonio's fortunes will soon change.

"If we could have made a couple more shots, it would've been a totally different game," Vassell said. "I like where we're going.

"We were trending in the right direction. If we would've made some shots, I think it would've been a totally different game."

Johnson echoed his team-mate's sentiment, although with an added sense of frustration after the Spurs' 82 points set a record low for any NBA side in a game this season.

"We know that we put in the work for it. We believe in each other and I wouldn't want to do it any other group than the group we got," Johnson said.

"We are a young team. We had great opportunities tonight and we had great opportunities at other games. We didn't really hit shots so we know we got to kind of hang our hats on the defensive end.

"I'm excited to get back out there Wednesday and put another great performance team-wise and hopefully get [a] win."

LeBron James has previously talked up the prospect of bringing an NBA franchise to Las Vegas when he retires, and he reiterated that desire after Saturday's in-season tournament final in Sin City.

James had 24 points in support of team-mate Anthony Davis, who finished with a season-high 41 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 123-109 in the Vegas showpiece to become the first winners of the tournament.

The four-time NBA MVP is into his 21st season in the league and has previously opened up on his desire to own a franchise when he calls time on his glittering career. 

James – who already owns stakes in Premier League outfit Liverpool and MLB team Boston Red Sox – said last year that he would "love" to take a franchise to Las Vegas. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver joked about those hopes as he presented James with the tournament's MVP trophy after Saturday's game, prompting laughter from James as he said: "This doesn't come with a franchise".

However, the 38-year-old is deadly serious about his ownership ambitions, saying: "My enthusiasm about being here post-career and bringing a team here has not changed. 

"The fans are amazing here. They have everything already, a WNBA team, they have a baseball team [the relocating Oakland Athletics] coming in soon, an NFL team, hockey team, Formula One was just here. 

"This is a place that loves great attractions, and I think the NBA will be another great addition to this city."

Tyrese Haliburton acknowledged the Los Angeles Lakers deserved Saturday's in-season tournament final victory as he vowed the Indiana Pacers will bounce back with a playoff push.

Haliburton has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the inaugural in-season tournament, but he was unable to help the Pacers triumph in Las Vegas as they fell to a 123-109 defeat to the Lakers.

Haliburton finished with 20 points and 11 assists but was upstaged by Anthony Davis, who had 41 points and 20 rebounds for Los Angeles, while LeBron James added 24.

Speaking after the Pacers' defeat, Haliburton accepted the Lakers had brought a playoff-level performance and deserved to go home with the trophy.

"Yeah, we're sick, frustrated," Haliburton said. "We just got outplayed tonight from the start of the game to the end of the game. 

"We 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.

"Every team doesn't have Anthony Davis and a bunch of 6-8, 6-9 wings, so there's that, as well. It's just about understanding how different looks are going to come. 

"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."

There are still plenty of reasons for positivity in Indiana, though, with the team fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 12-8 record after winning their last three regular-season games.

Haliburton is determined to help the Pacers end their three-season playoff exile in order to enjoy more of the games that matter, adding: "Getting accustomed to that was good for me and makes me want to play some more games that have some meaning to them.

"So we have to handle the season the right way so I can get to the playoffs and feel that."

Anthony Davis was the star of the show as the Los Angeles Lakers won the first NBA in-season tournament final on Saturday, but he put their success down to his partnership with LeBron James.

Davis recorded season highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds as the Lakers overcame the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas to be crowned champions of the inaugural tournament, while James backed him up with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

That represented something of a role reversal from their semifinal success against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, when James scored 30 points in under three quarters on the court.

Davis is now into his fifth year playing with James – who received the tournament's first MVP prize after Saturday's win – and he says the pair enjoy an almost telepathic connection.

"We've been doing it together for a long time, five years now, and we just figure it out," Davis said of his combinations with James. 

"We know each other's tendencies, what we like to do. Obviously in crunch time, we get to our infamous pick-and-roll and it's tough to stop.

"We feed off one another. Thursday, LeBron had it going. Tonight, it was me, and he still did his thing."

Saturday's game was the only one in the in-season tournament which didn't count towards the NBA's regular-season standings, but the Lakers are going well on that front too, sitting at 14-9 after winning 12 of their last 16 games.

Davis is determined to ensure the in-season tournament is not the only thing they win this season, saying: "I just try to do everything I can to win a basketball game. My team-mates put me in a great position to be successful. 

"Obviously, this is special for us, just winning the inaugural in-season tournament. But we want to also win the same thing in June.

"It's a step in the right direction, obviously, but even though it's a big performance, it's another game and we've got to continue to get going, starting on Tuesday."

The Lakers face a three-game road stretch next week as they return to regular-season action, taking on the Dallas Mavericks before back-to-back games against the out-of-form San Antonio Spurs.

LeBron James made more NBA history as the Los Angeles Lakers became the first winners of the in-season tournament on Saturday, before declaring: "Nobody can ever top that".

The Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 123-109 in Las Vegas to become the first team to lift the trophy, with James named the first-ever tournament MVP.

James was upstaged in the final by team-mate Anthony Davis, who recorded season highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds, though the four-time NBA MVP also played his part with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

As he continues to push the limits in his 21st season in the league, James took particular pleasure in helping the Lakers become the tournament's first winners, something which cannot be replicated.

"I don't think it's even about the MVP, it's about us coming together to win this thing," James told ESPN during the trophy presentation. 

"This is the [first] in-season tournament. Records will be broken, but one thing that will never be broken is to be the first to do something. 

"We're the first champions of the in-season tournament, and nobody can ever top that, and it's great to do it with a historic franchise and just a great cast of funny, engaged, competitive men."

Despite his own remarkable longevity, James hyped Davis up as the "face of the franchise" in preseason, and he ran with that tag on Saturday as the Pacers were unable to live with his monster performance.

The James-Davis partnership is now into its fifth season, and James believes the duo push each other to reach greater heights, saying: "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.

"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. 

"There's no jealousy. There's not a jealous bone in our bodies. We're never jealous of one another. Ever."

The Los Angeles Lakers are the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament champions after a 41-point effort from Anthony Davis propelled the side to a 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the final in Las Vegas.

Davis also had 20 rebounds, while LeBron James posted 24 points and 11 rebounds to help the Lakers become the first team to lift the NBA Cup.

James, now in his 21st year in the league, added to his extensive trophy cabinet by being named In-Season Tournament MVP.

Los Angeles led for most of the game, but Indiana responded to almost every Lakers run with one of their own to keep themselves within striking distance.

That all shifted late in the fourth quarter when the Lakers turned a four-point advantage into a 16-point lead and held on from there.

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, who had been the central figure in the Pacers’ run to the final, was targeted by the Lakers’ defence from the jump.

He was restricted to 20 points but managed to add 11 assists, while Bennedict Mathurin had 20 points off the bench.

LeBron James was Tyrese Hailburton's favourite player growing up, and Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham knows his team must keep the Indiana Pacers star under lock and key.

The Lakers face the Pacers in the final of the inaugural in-season tournament in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Indiana overcame the Milwaukee Bucks to progress to the showpiece game, with 23-year-old point guard Hailburton finishing with 27 points and 15 assists.

Hailburton has impressed all season, averaging 26.9 points per game, and now gets a chance to face off against one of his childhood heroes in the form of Lakers star James, who was in fine form against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.

"Like any kid born in 2000, LeBron was my favourite player growing up," Haliburton said. "And it's hard for him not to be for a lot of us.

"Growing up, I was a Cavs fan, then a Heat fan, then a Cavs fan again, then a Lakers fan before I got drafted. It's just how it went.

"To be able to compete against him in a championship is kind of like a storybook [ending] a little bit, and it's going to be a lot of fun.

"But that's the great part about being in the NBA, getting to compete against your idols on a nightly basis. I really look forward to that."

James might be Hailburton's idol, but Lakers coach Ham knows his team must find a way to keep the Pacers' talisman down.

"He's sneaky athletic. He has length to him, and his vision is incredible," Ham said. 

"I mean, the things he's able to do with the basketball, the way he sets up his teammates, looks off defenders, the way he pushes the pace in transition, he's constantly in attack mode.

"I think they've got a jewel, man."

Hailburton made his first All-Star appearance last season, though the Pacers have missed out on the playoffs in the last four campaigns.

"LeBron James is in his prime still," Pacers coach Ricky Carlisle noted.

"I'm watching the guy last night, and it's phenomenal. He's the only player in NBA history who has been the youngest player in the league and the oldest player in the league, both. That speaks to obviously an amazing run of longevity and, in his case, greatness.

"He's the all-time leading scorer, and if there's a Mount Rushmore, he's one of the guys on the NBA Mount Rushmore.

"That's what we're up against tomorrow. We're up against him and Anthony Davis and a lot of other very good players that are on a real uptick right now competitively.

"We've got our hands full. But if you're the Indiana Pacers and you're in the process of making the climb and you want great experience, this is the kind of challenge that you've got to love."

Ham added: "We've just got to be ready for a little bit of everything, but we can't get so caught up in trying to stop and prevent them from doing what they like to do. 

"We will, but we also can't forget to enforce our will upon the game, too. They have to guard us, too."

Giannis Antetokounmpo insists the players must shoulder the blame after the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the in-season tournament semi-finals.

The Pacers won 128-119 in Las Vegas to take their place in the final of the inaugural competition. Indiana will face the Los Angeles Lakers in that show-piece game.

Milwaukee were the favourites heading into Thursday's matchup, but Antetokounmpo criticised the team's lack of organisation.

However, he was adamant the players, not the coaches, must take responsibility.

"The talent level we have is incredible," said Antetokounmpo, who finished with a double-double of 37 points and 10 rebounds. "But we have to be more organised.

"I feel like sometimes we're not organised at all. We don't know what we try to get from our offense, or sometimes defensively we're not sprinting back.

"We don't shoot a lot of early 3s. At the end of the day, you have to protect the ball. You have to know where the ball is. We had a lot of situations today that they got a lot of dunks, open 3s, early 3s. We have to be better.

"Nobody is going to give you anything. Like sometimes I feel like we expect just because we have great players out there, that Tyrese Haliburton or Myles Turner or Aaron Nesmith, somebody is not just going to give us the game.

"We have to be better. We have to go out there and take it. You know at the end of the day, I think we are great players, but if we don't go out there and compete, they are not going to respect us. They played their best against us.

"The players play the game. We play the game, you know? Coaches can say whatever they want to say and put us in the position to be successful, and you hope that they do that for you. But you've got to make the plays.

"It's not the coaches' fault you don't sprint back. If you're not able to execute down the stretch and you turn the ball over and you throw it to your opponent's hands, it's not the coaches' fault. You just have to take that."

Bucks coach Adrian Griffin, though, said the onus is on him.

"I've got to do a better job of getting them into some certain sets down," he said. "But we put ourselves in a position [to win].

"The first half was rocky. We made some good adjustments, but we've got to close out in the fourth quarter, which we've done very well. We just couldn't pull it off tonight."

LeBron James needed less than three quarters to score 30 points and the Los Angeles Lakers booked a spot in Saturday’s Inaugural In-Season Tournament final with a 133-89 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans in Las Vegas.

Austin Reaves had 17 points and Anthony Davis added 16 with 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who will face the surprising Indiana Pacers for the NBA Cup.

Trey Murphy led New Orleans with 14 points and Zion Williamson had 13 with just two rebounds.

The Pelicans led 30-29 after the first quarter, but James opened the second by scoring the Lakers’ first 11 points, including three 3-pointers in a row.

James had 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting by halftime with Los Angeles up 67-54. He went to the bench midway through the third quarter and should be plenty rested for the final.

The Lakers have won three straight games and 11 of their past 15.

Haliburton leads Pacers over Bucks in In-Season Tournament semifinals

Tyrese Haliburton had 27 points and 15 assists, Myles Turner added 26 and the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 to advance to Saturday’s inaugural In-Season Tournament final.

Haliburton hit a dagger 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining to put the Pacers up 122-114 and celebrated by mimicking Damian Lillard’s “Dame time” celebration.

The Pacers, who entered the game third in the NBA in 3-point shooting, shot just 7 of 33 from deep (21.2%) but scored 72 points in the paint.

Turner scored 10 of his 26 points in the first quarter, including a monstrous dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Isaiah Jackson, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell combined to shoot 13 of 19 from the field while Indiana’s bench outscored Milwaukee’s 43-13.

Antetokounmpo had 37 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bucks, while Lillard scored 24 and Khris Middleton added 20.

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers savoured "a very special" night after they saw off the Boston Celtics in the closing stages of a dramatic in-season tournament quarterfinal.

Indiana has reached the final four stage in Las Vegas and will face the winner of Tuesday's game between the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals.

The Pacers won 122-112 on Monday, spurred on by a tiebreaking four-point play from Haliburton with 1:33 left, which delighted an electric home crowd and sparked a decisive 9-0 run.

Haliburton had 26 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds to record his first career triple-double at the perfect time, putting his team two wins away from NBA Cup glory.

He had missed Saturday's win over the Miami Heat with a respiratory infection and conceded he felt "dead" in a first half where he struggled with his breathing, but after using an inhaler at halftime the 23-year-old was able to produce a memorable second-half performance that led his team to a famous victory.

Haliburton was thrilled to upset the odds against Boston, who blew out Indiana 155-104 in November and came into the quarterfinal with a league-leading 15-4 record.

"We have wanted to be in this situation all year – and here we are," Haliburton said, per ESPN.

"Now it's not just about being here. It's about winning.

"It feels good to win, especially in a game where nobody expected us to. The atmosphere was crazy.

"It means the world to me to represent Indiana and this organization. I don't even know if it was as much about what was at stake, as it was about what they did to us the last time. I think that left a bad taste in our mouths."

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle felt the tournament clash was like a playoff game.

"The thing about the in-season tournament is that as you advance, you're going to play two more games – win or lose in the quarterfinals – against better opponents," he said. 

"And so this is something that's great for us because we need high level competition. 

"It really is another thing that is a simulator of playoff basketball. So it really helps us. And so, coming out with the win was big for a lot of reasons that I mentioned.

"But I know this is very special to Tyrese as well."

Center Myles Turner has been with the Pacers since 2015 so is well qualified to put the atmosphere and occasion into context.

"I haven't heard it like this here in like three or four years, probably since Victor Oladipo was here," he said after scoring 17 points and adding 10 boards.

"The energy was just incredible. I think this city really started rallying around this team. The story, the backstory of it all makes it the most special.

"And the fact that he [Haliburton] got his opportunity, he is able to take it and run with it ... I mean, it's just dope to see where this franchise, where I started with to what it's becoming and what it potentially can become from the same level. 

"It's honestly, like I said, it goes back to the atmosphere. I haven't heard MVP chants, maybe when Oladipo was here, but Ty's really come in and taken over and it's fun stuff."

Jayson Tatum had 32 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, while Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and added nine boards.

But those efforts were still not enough to prevent elimination as Boston played without injured All-Star Kristaps Porzingis.

The defeat left Tatum disappointed to miss out on the Las Vegas showpiece as the in-season tournament continues to gain momentum and popularity.

"We got to just be more connected defensively," he said. "But, I mean, it's the NBA. Sometimes guys are going to make plays.

"He [Haliburton] hit some tough shots. So it's kind of two fold. Guys get paid a lot of money to play basketball, and they're pretty good.

"Yeah. I wanted to go to Vegas, I didn't want to go home. I wanted to go Vegas, so yeah, I'm mad. Next year, I guess."

Indiana's semifinal will be on Thursday, a day before Boston hosts the loser of the New York-Milwaukee quarterfinal in their next game.