Live Lakers vs. Pacers In-Season Tournament updates: LeBron ...

Curious to see how Tyrese Haliburton comes out this third quarter. He seemed flummoxed by the Lakers' length early and his stats are underwhelming (seven points and six assists), but that second quarter showed me he has some sense of how the Lakers plan to attack him in pick-and-roll. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start using the Lakers' pressure against them and declining more ball screens

I'm guessing the Lakers are going to speak with referees David Guthrie, Tyler Ford and Mitchell Ervin before the third quarter. The Pacers average 22.1 free throw attempts per game, 16th in the NBA. At halftime, the Pacers have already hit their full game average by making 21 of 22 free throws, and four Lakers are in foul trouble. One of them is LeBron James, who averages a comically low 1.1 fouls per game this season for a Lakers team that allows a league-low 18.6 free throw attempts per game.

Conversations will be had. The Pacers are in this game despite shooting 36.2 percent from the field and allowing the Lakers to shoot 55.1 percent because of the woeful Lakers 3-point shooting, the refusal of Pacers other than Tyrese Haliburton to turn the ball over and the shocking free throw differential.

The only other time a team attempted six or fewer 3s in a half so far this season was when the Hornets won in Indiana last month. The Hornets made one of those six first-half 3-point attempts. The Lakers missed all six 3s tonight.

But who needs to shoot 3s (or anything else outside the paint) when you are facing a defense that gives up the most paint points in the league? No team in the NBA had scored 50 points in the paint in either half this season, but the Lakers just put 54 in the paint against the Pacers. The Lakers average 54.7 paint points per game, sixth in the NBA.

Austin Reaves is up to 22 points after scoring 15 in the second quarter. Anthony Davis has 17 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. LeBron James has 12 points but was limited to just 14 minutes because of foul trouble (three fouls). Rui Hachimura and Cam Reddish also have three fouls. LA has 52 points in the paint – a ridiculous number – but is just 0 for 6 on 3s.

The Lakers have 52 points in the paint already, which is the most I can remember a team having in a half in a while.

Austin Reaves (20 points) has nearly matched his season-high (23 points) in the first half.

Listening to LeBron James is a good idea.

The conspiracy theorists who think this game is geared for a Lakers In-Season title would have gone nuts if LeBron James got his way on that challenge, but he did, in fact, hook Aaron Nesmith and now has three fouls. I get that Lakers coach Darvin Ham feels like you have to challenge to support your superstar there, but it seemed pretty clear that it wouldn't be reversed. James was furious about the call, so Ham responds in kind – and now has no challenges for the rest of the game. Oof.

The Lakers are 0 for 6 on 3s in the first half. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's going to have to change for them to win this game (or will it?).

The Pacers have stayed in this game by scoring in transition (13 fast-break points), taking care of the ball (only three turnovers -- all in the first quarter) and winning the 3-point and free-throw battles (both more makes and attempts in both categories).

It says a lot about the Pacers' toughness that they're not down by more to the Lakers in this game. "Toughness" isn't a word you'd normally associate with an all-offense, not-much-defense team like Indiana. But it takes a hell of a lot of toughness to keep pushing the pace this relentlessly despite being gashed so much in the paint. Less tough teams would start playing tentatively given the circumstances.

Seems like every time Austin Reaves gets an iso, he's trying to put somebody on the Summer Jam Screen. The Pacers are really struggling to stay in front of him

LeBron is playing bully ball right now with four consecutive baskets in the paint. The Pacers don't have an answer for him. He's too big, too strong, too skilled.

If you want to know why Myles Turner is always among the league leaders in blocks per game, look no further than the first half of this In-Season Tournament championship. The Pacers are helpless at keeping teams out of the paint. You're going to have block opportunities when you give up nearly three more shots in the restricted area than any other team in the NBA.

LeBron, ever the showman, is flexing and hyping up the pro-Lakers crowd after every basket. The arena is eating out of the palm of his hand.

Bruce Brown said after the Pacers’ win over Boston in the IST quarterfinals that Indiana had gotten better the last couple of weeks by establishing defensive physicality early in games, which gave Indy an advantage in second halves. But they’re getting worked so far by the bigger Lakers, who are hitting first.

The Lakers aren't a strong shooting team. They missed six of their seven shots outside of the paint in the first quarter. But that won't matter if they are going to dominate the paint all night.

The Lakers outscored the Pacers 26-12 in the paint. And the fouls drawn have put Myles Turner, Bruce Brown and Bennedict Mathurin all in foul trouble.

The 26 paint points is the most Lakers scored in a quarter all season, and tied for most Pacers have allowed in any quarter all season.

The Pacers' bench played a crucial role in turning their semifinal matchup against the Bucks around early in the second quarter. They're doing solid work again tonight to keep the Pacers within striking distance. Aaron Nesmith and Isaiah Jackson in particular have been effective. However, the Lakers have limited T.J. McConnell by putting size on him.

Anthony Davis has 13 points and eight rebounds. He's imposed his will physically. Austin Reaves, who's playing through illness, already has seven points. LeBron James, who rarely fouls, has two early fouls. LA has scored 26 of their 34 points in the paint. Their defensive pick-and-roll adjustments – more switching, with trapping mixed in – have worked thus far against Tyrese Haliburton and Indiana's league-best offense.

There have been 16 fouls called and we're not even done with the first quarter yet.