In Las Vegas, the NBA’s in-season event is coming down to its exciting final stages.
After wins by the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, the semifinal matches have been set. The No. 2 Indiana Pacers will play the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks in the East semifinals. In the West, the No. 3 New Orleans Pelicans will play the No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers. These games will happen on Thursday, and the final is set to happen in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Regular-season games are more exciting now that the tournament is over, because the quarterfinals will count toward each team’s record. But the final won’t change the results from the regular season. The players and coaches on the final four teams will each get $100,000, and if they win the game, that amount will go up to $500,000.
After a thrilling first game, the Lakers beat the Suns in a repeat of a highly anticipated game from the group stage. The Suns put up a strong fight, but the Lakers held on to win 106–103. LeBron James led the way with 31 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Kevin Durant also played very well for the Suns, scoring 31 points, grabbing seven boards, and passing the ball four times.
The game, on the other hand, caused some trouble. The Suns might have been able to tie the game with a steal, but James was able to call a timeout even though the ball was loose, which is against the rules. In the end, this choice affected how the game turned out.
The Bucks, on the other hand, showed how good they are offensively against the Knicks by scoring 146 points, which was the most this season. They easily won 146-122. Andre Antetokounmpo scored 35 points, had 10 assists, and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead the way. The team also made an impressive 23-of-38 shots from beyond the 3-point line. Julius Randle played well for the Knicks. He scored 41 points in the first half by making all nine shots.
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The Bucks put together a strong shooting night and good defense in the third quarter, which helped them pull away and win by 24 points. Antetokounmpo almost had a triple-double, but he still made a big difference on both ends of the court.
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Like the tournament is almost over, basketball fans can’t wait for the exciting playoff games and the highly anticipated final, where one team will win the in-season tournament and be named the winner.