LeBron, Haliburton shine in festive NBA tournament semis — PHOTOS

The clusters of empty seats that filled T-Mobile Arena confirmed 2 p.m. isn’t the best time to begin an NBA game on a Thursday in Las Vegas.

But Sin City enjoys a nightcap as much as LeBron James enjoys affirming his interest in owning its prospective expansion franchise.

His Los Angeles Lakers ensured those empty seats were filled by 6 p.m.

His everlasting excellence ensured they’ll play the Indiana Pacers on Saturday in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament championship game.

James set a sellout crowd of 18,017 ablaze during 133-89 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, supplying 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting, eight assists without a turnover and five rebounds in 23 masterful minutes.

A few hours — and a few thousand spectators — prior, the Pacers scored a 128-119 victory over the Milwaukee in the first semifinal.

Courtside observers who lined the red, white, blue and gold hardwood included NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal, Julius Erving and Gary Payton; the Aces’ WNBA championship quintet of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Kiah Stokes; Raiders and Aces owner Mark Davis; and recording artists French Montana, Curren$y and Moneybagg Yo.

“Just trying to lead by example,” said James, a four-time NBA champion, and the league’s all-time leading scorer. “Make plays on the floor. Be unselfish. Try to make the right plays, offensively, defensively. Cover for my teammates. And live with the results.”

Las Vegas and its inherent pageantry underscore the significance of the In-Season Tournament, installed this season by NBA commissioner Adam Silver to recharge the 82-game regular season. ESPN and TNT convened in Toshiba Plaza with their respective superstar broadcast crews, merging “Inside the NBA” and “NBA Countdown” within a sea of hoop enthusiasts to celebrate the circumstance.

Fans participated in a variety of activities — including one that involved shooting at baskets and another that involved customizable sneakers.

Inside the arena, a long red carpet befittingly welcomed the tournament’s participants.

‘Who doesn’t like Vegas’

James arrived in a plain T-shirt and straight black jeans, earbuds fastened to his ears and black sunglasses framing his bearded face. Pacers standout Tyrese Haliburton favored a black, bejeweled long-sleeved button-up before supplying 27 points, 15 assists without a turnover and seven rebounds.

They both sauntered past the black and gold NBA cup, spoils — along with $500,000 per player — for the first-ever In-Season Tournament champion.

Outfitted with festive frills like neon lights fastened to the railings in seating sections, the arena felt like Drai’s Nightclub as much “The Fortress” of the Golden Knights, with lighting brightening the colorful court during play.

Plush lounge seating — akin to that in bottle service — was installed beyond one of the baselines.

The rhythm of the music ignited the lights that also accompanied explosive plays, including Haliburton’s step-back 3-pointer over Bucks center Brook Lopez with 49.1 seconds to play.

Afterward, the 23-year-old rising superstar point guard basked in the setting, pointing toward his right wrist in celebration like Bucks point guard Damian Lillard does when it’s “Dame Time” and he dominates the clutch.

“Who doesn’t like Vegas, you know what I mean?” Haliburton said, smiling besides Pacers center Myles Turner, who countered 37 points and 10 rebounds from Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo with 26 points and 10 rebounds of his own.

Haliburton continued: “It’s only a matter of the NBA coming. The guy on the Lakers, he talks about bringing the team to Vegas every other day. Eventually there will be a team here, and that’s good for the growth of the game.”

Lakers’ town, for now

But until a franchise belongs to Las Vegas, the Lakers remain the team of choice — as evidenced by the spirited gathering that attended their game.

Seemingly every positive play they made was cheered by a crowd that conversely booed the Pelicans during every appropriate opportunity.

Three weeks shy of his 39th birthday and in his 21st NBA season, James ensured they had plenty to cheer about — overpowering defenders at the rim, burying three straight triples during a second-quarter stretch, zipping pinpoint passes to spotted-up shooters and absorbing offensive fouls from beefy Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.

Maybe someday he’ll fulfill his goal of owning the local NBA team.

But on Thursday, he settled for owning the Pelicans — and perhaps the first In-Season Tournament title.

“Extraordinary,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of his superstar. “He set an unbelievable tone on both sides of the basketball for us tonight. His teammates just followed suit. It’s a huge, huge blessing to have that working in your favor and to be on the same side as that.”

Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.