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The implementation of the in-season tournament this year was initially met with skepticism by many in the NBA, but it’s turned out to be a massive success.
Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis told reporters after Tuesday’s tournament win over the Memphis Grizzlies that he feels the players are more motivated thanks to the cash prize.
“$500 [thousand] sounds real good to us,” Davis said. “It’s going to bring that juice, you know what I mean? … I heard one of our players, I’m not going to say who but he was like, ‘Man,’ when we beat Phoenix, ‘That’s one step closer to this $500K. I’ve never had that before.’ So it’s like, that’s a little extra motivation.”
Davis had 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and six blocks in the Lakers’ 134-107 blowout win over the Grizzlies. It was the highest point total of the season for Los Angeles, which has now won three straight games to improve to 6-5. The team is now tied with the Utah Jazz atop Group A in the Western Conference at 2-0 in the in-season tournament and it is averaging 128.0 points in tournament games, the highest average in the league.
Tuesday’s tournament games also seemed to bring out some extra fire from the teams competing. In the matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves, three players were ejected before a single point was even scored. There was also a brief incident in the Lakers-Grizzlies game that involved Davis:
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Things getting heated in Lakers-Grizzlies now 😳 pic.twitter.com/5jSpziQRGq
Group Play is set to continue this month until the single-elimination Knockout Rounds begin with the tournament quarterfinals on Dec. 4-5. The semifinals will be played Dec. 7 at a neutral site followed by the championship game on Dec. 9. However, the championship will not count as a regular-season game, so it will not affect the teams’ records nor the players’ regular-season statistics.
The Lakers’ next tournament game will take place on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers (3-7, 1-1 in Group A).
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