NFL DPOY candidate Micah Parsons courtside to witness epic clash between LeBron James and Luka Doncic

NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate Micah Parsons was one of the celebrities present for the showdown between LeBron James and Luka Doncic on Tuesday (12 December) in Dallas.

The Dallas Cowboys linebacker was at courtside as the LA Lakers and Dallas Mavericks played their NBA regular season game at the American Airlines Center.

The Lakers were coming off a successful conquest of the league’s first-ever In-Season Tournament title on Saturday. They defeated the Indiana Pacers, 123-109, in the finals at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Anthony Davis had a monster game in the title-clinching victory, going for 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks in 41 minutes of play. LeBron James, however, took home the tournament’s MVP award after a steady showing throughout that saw him average 26.4 points, eight rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.6 steals.

For winning the title, the Lakers received the NBA Cup, with all the winning players also getting $500,000 each. The Mavericks, for their part, won three straight matches heading into their game against Los Angeles, the most recent over the Memphis Grizzlies, 120-113, on Monday.

During their clash on Tuesday, Dallas was ahead of the Lakers (71-61) at halftime, with Luka Doncic scoring 18 points.

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LeBron James, Lakers proud of being pioneer winners of NBA In-Season Tournament

LeBron James and the LA Lakers became the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament champions. And they are proud of the achievement as they etched their names in history.

The Lakers completed a sweep of their In-Season play by defeating the Indiana Pacers, 123-109, in the finals of the “tournament within a tournament” at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Los Angeles Lakers rode on the efforts of its two superstars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, to get the better of the Pacers and secure a historic victory.

Davis had 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks while James finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Austin Reaves added 28 points of his own off the bench.

Following their title-clinching victory, LeBron James spoke of the significance of their NBA In-Season Tournament championship win, saying (h/t Forbes):

"Records will be broken, but one thing that will never be broken is to be the first to do something. And we're the first champions of the In-Season tournament, and nobody can ever top that, and it's great to do it with a historical franchise and just a great cast of funny, engaged, competitive men over here."

After a successful In-Season Tournament campaign, the Lakers are now looking to translate the same to the regular season, where they are currently sporting a 14-9 record, sitting sixth in the Western Conference.