In the NBA’s first-ever In-Season Tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the title game after going 4-0 in group play and defeating the Phoenix Suns in the quarterfinals and the New Orleans Pelicans in the semifinals.

On Thursday, Los Angeles utterly crushed New Orleans, sending them to the final game against the Indiana Pacers. The No. 1 offense in the league, led by emerging star Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers, presented a formidable challenge to the Lakers defense, which was on the rise.

But the Lakers have no problems in this game as they easily won 123-109 to capture the NBA Cup for the first time.

Following a miss, Indiana wasted little time in getting the ball out quickly as Buddy Hield was available for an open three by Haliburton in transition for the opening basket of the game. However, the Lakers demonstrated that they aren’t afraid to pick up the tempo when they grabbed a rebound and found Anthony Davis for a slam in transition, giving them a 7-5 lead.

Bruce Brown had two quick fouls from D’Angelo Russell’s aggressive attacking style while Austin Reaves was sidelined. With a fast 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting, Davis made his presence known early on, giving Los Angeles a six-point advantage at 26-20.

The first quarter saw the Lakers put their size on display as they attacked the paint often and went downhill, winning 26 points in the post to 12 for the Pacers. This led to a 34-29 lead at the half, with L.A. shooting 51.9% from the field and holding them to 37.5%.

At the start of the second quarter, LeBron James was just overwhelming Aaron Nesmith, scoring ten points in the paint. Reaves was his go-to player; despite being sick, he played with a lot of energy and looked aggressive, scoring 11 points in nine minutes. With six minutes left in the half, that kept the Lakers ahead eight points.

Even though Reaves scored 22 points and Davis finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Indiana managed to hang around by making five 3-pointers to the Lakers’ zero and making seven more free throw attempts. Despite this, Los Angeles put forth a strong first half performance, leading 65–60 against a potent Pacers offense.

Due to foul trouble, James had to take a longer break before returning for a 3-point play to start the second half. On the next possession, Davis attacked Miles Turner, giving the Lakers a ten-point advantage, 70-60. James and Davis appeared driven to become the first team to win the In-Season Tournament, especially with the NBA Cup and $500,000 on the line.

With Isaiah Jackson defending him, Turner committed his fourth foul, and Davis finished with four offensive rebounds. Sadly, it appeared like he had a groin injury. Despite this, he attempted to play because of the conditions of the game.

The Lakers continued to attack the paint on every possession despite their dismal 3-point shooting (0 for 10) performance. Nevertheless, the Pacers made some thoughtless turnovers to narrow the lead to five points as James took a break after leading 84–73. Thankfully, Taurean Prince’s first 3-pointer for the franchise and James’ lob to Davis allowed L.A. to reestablish order.

Once more, the Pacers showed no signs of weakness as Bennedict Mathurin’s running 3-pointer at the buzzer cut the Lakers’ lead to eight points, 90-82, heading into the fourth quarter. With a 7-2 run to start the fourth quarter and a T.J. McConnell inbound steal and Mathurin layup, Indiana would not let up, reducing the advantage to three points, 92-89.

It appeared as though the Lakers would respond to every scoring burst with a corner 3-pointer and explosive dunk by Cam Reddish. With two more free throws, a huge slam off a pass from Russell, and two more free throws to increase the lead to 12, Davis would continue to add to his incredible night.

Any chances of a comeback would be dashed by Davis since the Pacers couldn’t compete with him and James on the inside.

Nevertheless, the Lakers proved they were driven to win it all as they emerged as the first team to win the In-Season Tournament. It is a tremendous accomplishment to keep Indiana below 40 percent, and it might be a step toward pursuing the elusive 18th championship.