The defending NBA Development League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers moved into first place in the Western Conference standings and lowered their magic number to clinch home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs to one with a 100-94 victory over the Tulsa 66ers on Saturday at the Tulsa Convention Center. The Vipers (31-16) are tied with the Reno Bighorns (31-16), who beat the Sioux Falls Skyforce 97-82, atop the Western Conference standings. The Vipers scored the first nine points of the second quarter, going on an 11-1 run to take a 40-30 lead after Mouhammad Faye hit his third basket of the run. Faye hit two three-pointers a jumper in the opening 3:22. Faye scored 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting (4-for-8 from behind the arc). Jerel McNeal led the Vipers in scoring with 22 points, hitting 8-of-15 shots. The Vipers jumped out to a 66-52 lead at the 9:16 mark of the third quarter when Houston Rockets-assignee Hasheem Thabeet hit a lay-up, but the 66ers (31-17) went on a 12-0 run to pull within 66-64. The Vipers were held scoreless for 6:04, when Jon Scheyer hit a three-pointer. That sparked a 12-4 run for the Vipers to close the quarter, punctuated by a two-handed slam by Thabeet. Thabeet finished with his first double-double, scoring 14 points with 12 rebounds (seven offensive), three blocks and four steals. The 66ers hit their first 23 free throws in a row and Elijah Milsap hit his first nine, before missing two-straight at the front end of three free throws with 5:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. The 66ers finished 28-for-30, Milsap was 10-for-12 while scoring 14 points. Oklahoma City Thunder-assignee Byron Mullens scored a team-high 18 points with a team-high eight rebounds. The Vipers play their final regular season road game on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. when they face the Texas Legends at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco.
