Lakers go 4-0 in group play, make in-season tournament quarters

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers are getting closer to Las Vegas.

The Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 131-99 on Tuesday to win their group and advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA’s season-opening tournament.

It seems like the tournament season has come at the perfect time for the Lakers. With just 3-5 this season and a three-game losing streak entering group play, Los Angeles swept the qualifying round, going 4-0 against the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah to win Group A. Western Conference.

A few weeks into the competition, the Lakers notched their third straight victory to improve their record to 9-6. LA didn’t just win their group matches. He dominated, outscoring all four opponents by a total of 74 points.

LeBron James scored his 39,000th point en route to 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds against the Jazz.

“It was great that we could go about our business,” James said.

The win guarantees Los Angeles a home match in the quarterfinals on December 4 or 5 with a trip to Las Vegas for the semifinals on the line. The winners of Groups A, B and C from each conference advance to the quarterfinals. final, plus a wild card.

“Being home and being able to sleep in our beds, not having to travel, it’s always good when you play well at home,” said Anthony Davis, who led Los Angeles with 26 points and 16 rebounds. A pretty rough start on the road, so it helps to have our fans behind us. But it feels good. One step closer to winning the Cup.”

The Lakers have not been shy about saying their motivation for this season’s tournament was not just the spirit of competition, but perhaps more so, the prize money. Each player on the winning team in the Dec. 9 championship game will receive a $500,000 bonus. The runner-up receives $200,000 per player. And just getting to Vegas will net the losers of the two Dec. 7 semifinal matches $100,000 per player.

“This is not an ordinary regular-season game,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said when asked about the implications of a potential closing game to win the group. “They’re well aware of it. This handbag is quite attractive. … Guys like money. … Not like that, they love it. That incentive there, it’s huge.”

Lakers big man Christian Wood, who signed a $2.7 million minimum contract for the season, spoke about the potential impact of the winning salary.

“I’ve been in the league a long time, so I’m trying to save it as much as possible,” Wood said. “Who wouldn’t try to save that much money? But it’s a big time for young people. We’re going to try to do it for them.”

The Lakers are the second team to win their group. The Indiana Pacers secured Group A of the Eastern Conference earlier Tuesday, outlasting the Atlanta Hawks 157-152.

“A big, big step in the right direction, not only for us to get something for the tournament of the season, but for us to come together and constantly try to improve together and play the right way,” he said. Ham said.