LeBron dominates Pels, lifts Lakers into In-Season Tournament final - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — The NBA's inaugural in-season tournament has provided an ideal platform for LeBron James — weeks shy of his 39th birthday — to prove that he's still in his prime.

With dramatic theater lighting setting the atmosphere for the tourney's semifinals at T-Mobile Arena, James put on a show in the Los Angeles Lakers' 133-89 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

James poured in 30 points and added eight assists and five rebounds Thursday to earn the Lakers a date with the Indiana Pacers, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks earlier in the day, in Saturday's championship game.

The Lakers star, in his 21st season, has been so good for so long that performances like he had against the Pelicans when he made 9-of-12 shots (including 4-for-4 from 3), committed zero turnovers and registered a plus-minus of plus-36 in the 23 minutes he played, sometimes seem ordinary for him.

However, taking a moment to consider that James is closer in age to Shaquille O'Neal, who's been retired since 2011 and was sitting courtside for the tourney, than his teammate Austin Reaves and the things he continues to do on the basketball court seem even more incomprehensible.

Like in the span of 61 seconds in the second quarter, when James hit three 3-pointers — the last qualifying as a heat check as he launched it from 30 feet out with the crowd anticipating his shot as soon as he touched the ball past half court — to start to put L.A. in control.

It was reminiscent of James' first meeting with Zion Williamson in 2020, when James scored 11 straight points in the third quarter — including going 3-for-3 from 3 — to break the game open and assert his dominance over the then-rookie sensation.

James' outside flurry, as notable as it was, might have been