D-League Schedule Feb 8

[truebluefan]

Delaware 87ers at Maine Red Claws 5:00 p.m.
Texas Legends at Rio Grande Valley Vipers 6:00 p.m.
Bakersfield Jam at Reno Bighorns 7:00 p.m.
Santa Cruz Warriors at Los Angeles D-Fenders 8:00 p.m.

 

[truebluefan]

The Santa Cruz Warriors defeated the Los Angeles D-Fenders 113-98 Sunday night for the fourth time this season, improving to 19-11 overall.

Mychel Thompson paced the Warriors with 30 points, going 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. Ognjen Kuzmic notched a double-double, tallying 22 points and 18 rebounds, while Dominique Sutton also recorded a double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Aaron Craft and Anthony Vereen added 12 apiece for Santa Cruz.

Los Angeles received a strong performance from Jamaal Franklin, who paced the D-Fenders with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Josiah Turner added 18 points for the D-Fenders, while Jabari Brown scored 16 in the loss.

The first half of action was a tightly-contested battle between Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, complete with three lead changes. The Warriors headed into the break trailing the D-Fenders by 4 points. "‹

The second half would see the Warriors get the added boost from Mychel Thompson behind his 16 third quarter points. Los Angeles fell behind by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, as Santa Cruz stayed on top entering the final frame, edging the D-Fenders by 4 points.

The first few minutes of the fourth quarter would be tightly contested, until the Warriors went on a 7-0 run to put Santa Cruz up 98-91 with 5 minutes remaining. Santa Cruz would keep the D-Fenders at a double-digit deficit for the last three minutes of the game.

The Warriors led in field goal percentage (49%-46%), rebounds (54-27), and assists (28-18). The D-Fenders committed fewer turnovers (17-19), had more steals (13-12), and had more blocked shots (6-3).

The Warriors return home to Santa Cruz to meet the Bakersfield Jam on Tuesday at Kaiser Permanente Arena, scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. PST. Fans can listen to the broadcast on the Santa Cruz Warriors flagship station, KION 1460AM/101.1FM, or catch the game on the NBA D-League's YouTube channel, via www.santacruzbasketball.com .

Press release from the Santa Cruz Warriors

 

[truebluefan]

Archie Goodwin hit the go-ahead jumper with 3.1 seconds remaining to help the Bakersfield Jam (22-10) defeat the Reno Bighorns (13-16) 139-137 Sunday at the Reno Events Center. Goodwin, on assignment from the Phoenix Suns, finished with a game-high 35 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. After trailing by 15 points in the first quarter, the Jam sharpened their defense and offense in the second period as they won the quarter 42-26 and went into the half with a three-point advantage (76-73). In the third, Jamil Wilson and Mac Koshwal each scored eight points, but a Reno three-pointer at the buzzer had the Jam trailing 108-106 heading into the final frame.

Bakersfield trailed most of the fourth quarter and had a 10-point deficit at the 3:15 mark. With great team effort on both sides of the floor, the Jam finished the game on a 12-0 run, capped off by Goodwin's fadeaway jumper for the victory. Wilson finished with 26 points and eight rebounds while Koshwal (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Suns assignee Reggie Bullock (18 points, 12 rebounds) each posted a double-double. Jerel McNeal posted 14 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals. Joe Jackson added 10 points and three steals.

The Bighorns were led by Ra'shad James (32 points, 9 rebounds) and Jordan Hamilton (26 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks). David Wear contributed 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Next up, the Jam will play in Santa Cruz against the Warriors on Tuesday, February 10 at 7:00 p.m.

Press release from the Bakersfield Jam

 

[truebluefan]

- The Texas Legends tallied their second highest score of the season en route to handing the Rio Grande Valley Vipers their largest loss in history, 148-105.

The Vipers won the tipoff and grabbed the first score of the game. The two teams tied it up five times in the first quarter before Eric Griffin sunk a three that would give the Legends their final lead of the night. Texas continued to increase the deficit throughout the second quarter, outscoring the Vipers 42-27 behind 17 points from William Buford.

The third quarter saw more of the same as the Legends finally reached their largest lead of the night in the fourth with a 45-point advantage. After suffering a last-second loss last night at home, the Legends fought back with a vengeance to defeat the Vipers by 43 on the road. Texas out-rebounded the Vipers 52-39 and grabbed 31 assists to RGV's 19.

The Legends shot 58.3% on the night and had six players in double-digits, four of those with new season-highs. Renaldo Balkman led all scorers with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. William Buford added 26 points, 8 rebounds while Booker Woodfox tagged on 24 points, 7 assists. Yuki Togashi also grabbed a season-high 12 points, 4 assists.

The Vipers shot 43.2% but struggled from outside, shooting 26.2%. Glen Rice Jr. led the team with 16 points while Clint Capela grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds.

Eric Griffin will represent the Legends in the NBA D-League All-Star Game next weekend and the team will return to action February 18th, hosting the Santa Cruz Warriors at 7pm.


Press release from the Texas Legends

 

[truebluefan]

The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, defeated the Delaware 87ers (11-19) 91-81 in comeback fashion at the Portland Expo. With a strong overall performance form tonight's player of the game, Ralph Sampson III (8 points, 9 rebounds, 9 blocks), the Red Claws improve to 20-10 overall and 5-1 in the season battle against the 87ers. The Red Claws will maintain a two game winning streak as they head into the all-star break.

Chris Babb (14 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds) seemed to be back in his grove after starting only his second game since missing five straight games due to a knee injury. Babb lead off scoring in the game with a nifty floater inside the paint and a three pointer from downtown. The Red Claws saw scoring from Christian Watford, Jason Calliste, Andre Dawkins, Omari Johnson, and Sherwood Brown in the first quarter but an impressive shooting display from Victor Rudd (17 points, 1 steal, 8 assists) and the 87ers.

Andre Dawkins (13 points, 2 assists) and Omari Johnson (20 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 11 rebounds) made several attempts to cut the 87ers lead in the second quarter. Dawkins sunk two shots from downtown in the quarter while Johnson added a pair of baskets and two free throws. Once again, the Red Claws saw a team effort in scoring which featured five different scorers in the quarter.

Maine found their groove as they entered the second half. Chris Babb led scoring in the half once again with a put back jumper, which was followed by a nifty pass from Babb down low to Ralph Sampson III. Omari Johnson would lead the Red Claws in two straight scoring runs going 8-0 and 6-0. Maine would gather their first lead of the game since 8:47 in the first quarter with 4:54 remaining in the third and they didn't stop there. Jason Calliste (7 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds) closed out the third quarter with a smooth three point shot with only second remaining on the clock.

After Calliste's strong finish to the third quarter, Maine would hold on to the lead for the remainder of the game. Ralph Sampson III proved that he is a force to be reckoned with both on offense and defense. Sampson was one rebound and a put back away from his first triple double of the season. Maine saw a strong back-to-back performance from Omari Johnson who finished last night's game versus Westchester with 30 points. Johnson came out strong once again tonight putting up a total of 20 points, 3 assists and 11 rebounds. Boston Celtics assignee Andre Dawkins was one of three Red Claws in double digits tonight.

Maine will be pleased to take this winning streak with them into the all-star break. After playing two straight games in less than 24 hours, the Red Claws will enjoy their week off. Chris Babb, Tim Frazier and the Red Claws coaching staff won't experience as long of a break as the rest of the squad, as they are off to Brooklyn for the NBA D-League all-star game on Saturday, February 14th. Babb and the coaching staff will join the rest of the team will be back in action at the Expo on Sunday, February 22nd as they take on the Erie Bayhawks for a 5:00pm tip off.

Press release from the Maine Red claws