(Here's the box score. I'll put the highlights up whenever they're made available.)
- That headline isn't meant to be a slam on either the Thunder players assigned to Tulsa or the D-League. But it's the truth. Mustafa Shakur picked up a random DNP, so Kyle Weaver took over point guard duties and came up with 18 points and 10 assists. D.J. White had 26 points on 16 shots and 11 rebounds. Byron Mullens grabbed a game-high 13 boards along with 13 points.
- The Mad Ants completely collapsed in the second half. After scoring 26 points in the first quarter and 24 in the second, Fort Wayne went on to score 27 points in the third and fourth quarters COMBINED. They've lost a few players recently (Ron Howard, Jared Reiner), and it's clear the guys they have left just couldn't keep up with what essentially was 1/4 of an NBA roster.
- LATAVIOUS WILLIAMS played some solid post defense in the 4th quarter, blocking a pair of layups, and he finished with a respectable six points, six rebounds and three blocks in 14 minutes.
- As good as Williams's defense was, Fort Wayne wasn't helping matters by settling for jumper after jumper. There were a few layup attempts, which either were blocked or just missed, but for the most part it was jump shots. Ron Howard was their designated slasher, but someone else needs to step up now. Oh, in all of this I forgot to mention that the Mad Ants didn't score for the first eight minutes of the fourth. So I really mean what I just said.
- Jason Straight played the best for the Mad Ants. 20 points on 16 shots, though he didn't contribute much else and was one of the guys failing to drive to the rim. I like Straight generally, but take it to the hoop next time.
- Rob Kurz has a deep thigh bruise but played anyway, and maybe he shouldn't have. He played a little under 18 points off the bench but missed seven of his nine shots and had more fouls+turnovers (five) than rebounds (four). His decision to play was...admirable, I guess? And for all I know (which isn't much) may have been motivated by the chance to show what he can do against NBA players, but he just didn't look good out there and probably would've benefitted in the long term by resting.
- I don't like Dan Dickau. You probably already know this, but it's still true. Seven points on 3-9 shooting and five assists on a team without another distributor? This is a former NBA player?