Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis on the Indiana Pacers: 'It's going to be a test for our defense'
LAS VEGAS — The Indiana Pacers take on the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in the In-Season Tournament Finals. It's a major stage for the Pacers, and they are going against the most popular team in the NBA. They are in a spotlight that they have wanted, and earned.
They were ready for their moment on Monday night, beating the Boston Celtics on TNT, and they followed it up with a team win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in Las Vegas. When the pressure has been turned up, the Pacers have been ready for it. They have proved this week that they can be a force with their offense.
Now, they play the Lakers, one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. It will be a tough test for Indiana, but it will also be a trial for Los Angeles. Slowing down Tyrese Haliburton has been nearly impossible for every team in the league, and that's made Indiana a threat every night.
The Lakers know how difficult of a task they have tonight. "They are a good ballclub. We were actually talking about maybe last week that they score a lot of points. A lot of 140s and things like that, 130s. Obviously, the head of the snake is Tyrese, with good role players around him who complement him very well," star forward Anthony Davis said of the Pacers. He had 16 points and 15 rebounds during LA's Semifinal win over the New Orleans Pelicans. "They are young. They are scrappy. They get out and run, and they play the right way. So it's going to be a test for our defense, for sure. But it's going to be an exciting game."
The teams split their two battles last season, with Andrew Nembhard hitting a memorable buzzer beater in Los Angeles to secure a win for Indiana in November of 2022. Nembhard has a right knee injury and won't play tonight.
Without Nembhard and Jalen Smith, the Pacers are down two rotation players. The Lakers are banged up, too, and won't have Gabe Vincent. Still, with Haliburton, Davis, and LeBron James playing, this game will be entertaining and could go either way.
"I told [D'Angelo Russell] before the season started that if they are competing in the East, then I think he has a chance to win an MVP at some point just because of the way he plays and the unselfishness that he plays with," Lakers guard Austin Reaves said of Haliburton. They were teammates on Team USA this summer and formed a bond on and off the court. "The way he is making his teammates better, it says a lot. Just for the way we played together, it was simple. You knew he was going to play the game the right way, make the right pass. You never had to worry about that with him. You tip your hat to a guy like that, one for just being so unselfish when you're that talented."
LA's head coach Darvin Ham sees the challenges of taking down the Pacers. "They are just out there having fun. They have got a bunch of young, high-level talent that's just out there having fun playing together, playing hard, making plays. And so we are definitely going to have our hands full," he said Friday.
Indiana knows that they will have challenges coming their way, too. They've been ready for them all week, though, and will try to prove that they can beat anybody tonight with the stakes as high as they've ever been.
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