So last night we had three tight games in the D-League, all worth watching. Patrick Ewing Jr. got my Nod of the Night with his 19 points, 14 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in Reno's win over the Defenders last night in a game that saw 16 lead changes. Patrick's been looking great lately, and he's putting up numbers like this nightly OFF THE BENCH. He may not be his daddy, but we love him the way he is.
- Albuquerque 99, Bakersfield 94 - Bakersfield lost this one with their 20 turnovers. It took Derrick Byars 21 shots to get his 20 points and his 5 turnovers contributed (just in the wrong sort of way). Justin Reed had a good game for the Jam though with 16 points 10 boards. Jasper Johnson was the real story for the night however. The kid's been putting up great numbers this season and his 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals last night continued that beautiful trend. Keep an eye on Jasper [to go overseas, as his body just isn't suited for the NBA -- Scott]. David Noel played all but 30 seconds for the Birds and put up 21 points, 16 boards, and dished 5 dimes. Wonderful. Nice win for Albuquerque. Bakersfield is slipping ladies and gents.
- Fort Wayne 119, Rio Grande Valley 114 - In this one we saw nearly half the Viper team receive techs, and each team managed to turn the ball over 19 times a piece. But the Ants home fans sure got a show, as the team shot 60% from the field even though the Vipers outrebounded the angrier than usual Ants 47-31. It doesn't help, however, when over half (24) of a teams total rebounds are offensive. Walker Russell looked great last night with 26 points (7 for 10 shooting), 11 assists, and 4 robberies. He needs to watch those 5 TO's however. Chris Hunter looked as good as ever with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 swats. Rio Grande had their bright spots however. Trent Strickland put in 31 and 9 (28 in the first half) and Jawad Williams had 22 and 7 (and 2 blocks to go along with it). Let's just keep down the turnovers fellas.
- Reno 125, LA 115 - So yes, Ewing won this one for Reno. Reno's Russell Robinson showed just what he can do last night. He's averaging 10.5 points on the season, and put up 25 last night. I'm betting he has a smile on his face today. Though it wasn't all smiles for Reno. They had to stop Joe Crawford and they did what they could, Crawford still erupting for 32 points and teammate Brandon Heath adding 26. In the end, LA was outrebounded 50 to 34 and that just doesn't do the trick
The Bighorns also re-acquired Garry-Hill Thomas, who played for Utah last season. Thomas had 4 points and 4 boards in 25 minutes last night (was he selling popcorn or playing basketball in these 25 minutes?). In other news, Austin's Marcus Williams is our NBADL Player of the Week as he's been a big part of their 4 game win streak. Congrats to Marcus.
Tonight's only game is Colorado going up against Dakota. This should be an easy win for the Wizards. And let's all take a moment to pray for Rod Benson and his quest to find a Boom Tho girl.