The Los Angeles Lakers will compete in the Summer League championship game for the second straight year after overcoming the Cleveland Cavaliers in a pulsating semi-finals clash.They needed double-overtime to see off the Cavs as they secured a 112-109 victory in Las Vegas.Both teams traded punches for six periods but it was the Lakers who finally landed the knockout blow.

One-man show

This was largely thanks to a terrific performance from Josh Hart who set a Summer League record for the team.

He posted 37 points and nine rebounds on 13-of-28 shooting, which included six three-pointers.

The shooting guard had already entered the game as the leading scorer in the competition with 21.6 points per game. This eruption increased his average to 24.2 points.

“Obviously he had a star performance tonight,” Lakers summer league coach Miles Simon said of Hart.

The second-year man has solidified his case to be this year's MVP and follow in the footsteps of Lonzo Ball who scooped the prize last year.

Cleveland had no answer for him as he was on a tear offensively all night. 13 of his points came in the fourth quarter as he was efficient in scoring at the rim and from beyond the arc.

Hart, who won an NCAA championship with Vilanova, compared the thrilling encounter with the Cavaliers to the games he played on the biggest stage in college.

“Obviously this was an NBA Summer League game, but this felt like it was totally different,” he said.

“I’ve played in (the) Final Four, I’ve played in the national championship. It had that ‘national championship-esque’ feel to it.”

Leader

Hart rose to the occasion and used his experience from winning the NCAA title to help his team on Monday night.

“He gives us all energy,” said Svi Mykhailiuk, who added 31 points of his own. “We can always rely on him. He’s the leader of our team. We know we can count on him every time.”

The 23-year-old has surely sealed the MVP award after this terrific display and already has his coach's vote.

“Yeah, and he should get everyone else’s vote, too,” Simon said. “Guy’s been an absolute stud game in and game out. He’s been tremendous.”

Lakers teammate Kyle Kuzma is also in no doubt that he deserves MVP honours as he took to Twitter to salute him.

Hart, however, wasn't completely satisfied with his performance as he missed crucial free-throws in both overtime periods and punished himself by doing push-ups at the end of the game.

But his emergence is another bonus for the franchise and they'll hope he can take this confidence into next season and have a real impact.

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