NBA In-Season Tournament final odds, picks: Lakers favored ...

The final of the NBA In-Season Tournament is a matchup of one of the most successful franchises in the sport, the Los Angeles Lakers, and one that has never won the NBA title, the Indiana Pacers. The Lakers are favored to win the NBA Cup in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

LA is favored by a few points for the game set for T-Mobile Arena. ABC and ESPN2 will air the game starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.

In some ways, the NBA office has been looking forward to this game more than the NBA Finals this year. The In-Season Tournament has been a success in that it has created marquee events at a time of the year when the NBA would otherwise be in a lull, after the initial buzz to start the season but before the marquee games on Christmas. Some of the games have had close, exciting finishes, although the semifinals did not have that.

The Lakers mauled the New Orleans Pelicans in a semifinal on Thursday, winning 133-89. LeBron James scored 30 points in 23 minutes and the Lakers turned a 13-point halftime lead into a whopping 39-point lead after three quarters. James scored 31 points in the quarterfinal and has scored at least 30 points in four of the Lakers’ six In-Season Tournament Games.

The Pacers had a tougher time getting to the final but were able to knock out one of the most talented teams in the league. Indiana beat the Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 in a close game until the Pacers built some separation in the final two minutes. Tyrese Haliburton scored 27 points and Myles Turner had 26 to overcome a 37-point effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Indiana took out Boston and Milwaukee, the two favorites entering the knockout stage, to get here. After going 4-0 in group play, the Pacers are 6-0 in the In-Season Tournament but are 8-8 in regular-season games that didn’t count towards the tournament. The Pacers have wins against Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia, three of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference standings, in tournament play, but have lost to four teams outside the playoff spots (Bulls, Hornets, Raptors, Trail Blazers) in the regular season.

These teams have met with a trophy on the line before, in the 2000 NBA Finals. The Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, beat the Pacers, led by Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose, in six games.

All odds from BetMGM. Looking for NBA tickets? Find them here.

Unsurprisingly, the star players for the two teams in the championship game are the favorites to win tournament MVP. James being favored ahead of Haliburton is correlated with the Lakers being favored in the final.

LeBron James’ masterclass leads Lakers to brink of NBA Cup: ‘He played like he wanted it’

The Tyrese Haliburton show is bringing a smile to Pacers’ faces: ‘He’s special’

Is the NBA expanding to Vegas? In-Season Tournament a strong sign of what could be next

(Photo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James: David Becker / NBAE via Getty Images)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.