New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones said he had approached the NBA In-Season Tournament games over the past month with the same intensity and effort that he tried to bring to every game.

But the former Alabama standout’s performance in the NBA In-Season Tournament has helped the Pelicans reach the semifinals. New Orleans plays the Los Angeles Lakers at 8 p.m. CST Thursday in Las Vegas. TNT will televise the game.

“I approach every game the same,” Jones said. “There’s no game bigger than the next. I know it’s got added benefits to it, but the game itself, I approach it the same way every game. Me personally, there’s no extra anything that I’m coming into the game with. I’m showing up and playing the same way as I would if we were playing a preseason game.”

For its first In-Season Tournament, the NBA divided its teams into six five-team groups. The Pelicans advanced to the eight-team knockout round by winning the Western Conference’s Group B with a 3-1 record after losing their opener to the Houston Rockets 104-101 on Nov. 10.

Jones missed the Houston game with a leg injury. But as New Orleans swept through their four tournament contests since the loss to the Rockets, Jones has posted better per-game averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks than he has in his other 15 other games this season.

Jones’ stats boost has been particularly notable on the offensive end, where he has averaged 16 points and 4.25 assists during the In-Season Tournament as opposed to 11.5 points and 2.5 assists in New Orleans’ other games.

In the Pelicans’ 127-117 victory over the Sacramento Kings in the tournament quarterfinals on Monday night, Jones reached a season-high with 23 points to go with five rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

“Herb was great tonight all-around,” New Orleans guard CJ McCollum said. “Defensively, we already know what he’s going to do. But I think he’s taken strides and made steps offensively finishing around the basket, catching and shooting 3′s, when to make the right decision on driving and passing versus driving and shooting.”

Between the loss to the Rockets and the victory over the Kings in the tournament, New Orleans defeated:

· The Dallas Mavericks 131-110 on Nov. 14, with Jones contributing 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks.

· The Denver Nuggets 115-110 on Nov. 17, with Jones contributing eight points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.

· The Los Angeles Clippers 116-106 on Nov. 24, with Jones contributing 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.

Jones is one of the three NBA players who have at least 30 steals and 25 blocked shots this season, along with Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes and New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson.

In the Pelicans’ victory over the Mavericks, Dallas star Luka Doncic had 16 points, two assists and two rebounds – all season lows for the four-time All-NBA guard.

“One-on-one, Herb is a great defender,” McCollum said. “He’s a great help defender. He makes it very difficult for players to score. Unless they get fouled, they’re not really scoring on Herb. And I think that’s the sign of a great defender when they try to get him out of the action. He does a great job of just knowing where the ball’s at, constantly communicating, and then the cool thing about him is he can get it out off the miss and push it in transition, too.”

The Lakers advanced to the tournament semifinals by beating the Phoenix Suns 106-103 on Tuesday night.

In the other semifinal game, the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks will square off at 4 p.m. Thursday. ESPN will televise the game.

The NBA In-Season Tournament championship game is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Las Vegas. ABC will televise the game.

The players on the championship team will win $500,000 apiece. The losers in the title contest get $200,000, and the semifinal losers get $100,000.

“The NBA got it right,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said after the Pelicans defeated the Kings. “Definitely, fans are viewing in. We watched the game right before we came out. It was a high-intensity game between Boston and Indiana. Tonight, no different – high-intensity game. Fun to be a part of. I think the guys just relish these type of moments.”

In his third NBA season after starring at Hale County High School and Alabama, Jones said he just enjoys playing with his teammates in New Orleans.

“I think it’s somewhat similar to a college team almost,” Jones said. “… Everybody just enjoys being around each other, and I think that’s our team. Everybody enjoys showing up – I wouldn’t even call it work – showing up to play basketball, hoop, just be around each other, feeding off each other, learning from each other. And it’s super fun to be around a group that enjoys being around each other.”

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.