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In a monumental step for the NBA Development League, the Canton Charge and the Maine Red Claws competed in the minor league's first televised contest on ESPNU this season. Quinn Cook and Canton took down NBA assignees Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey, and the Red Claws by a score of 105-93 on Friday. Cook, the former Duke product, finished with 25 points, four rebounds, six assists, and one steal while Rozier tallied 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal alongside Mickey's near triple-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds, and eight blocks.
Cook has been impressive for Canton, who currently stand tall as one of the hottest teams in the D-League with a five game winning streak. His smart shot selection was the biggest factor in their latest win, going 11-of-19 from the floor and three-of-four from deep. All of his points from within the three-point line were scored at the basket as Cook showed off his impressive ability to finish around the rim when driving to the basket by going eight-for-fifteen. He also did a great job defensively against Rozier, holding him to only 25 percent from the floor.
Rozier struggled from the floor in this matchup. After a great performance at the Showcase, where he scored 29 points, he seemed to be a little off in this game. The guard's poor shot selection, paired with suffocating defense from the Charge, contributed to his downfall after going 5-of-20. He did shoot a perfect four-of-four from the free throw line, contributed four assists, and only had one turnover in 33 minutes of action — a huge step forward for him.
Maine's top contributor was reigning NBADL Player of the Month for December, Jordan Mickey. He found many ways to impact this game aside from scoring and almost finished with a triple-double for the season. Although Mickey has been working on an outside shot he did not attempt one in this matchup; instead an overwhelming majority of his shots came right at the rim. All six of his made shot came at the rim and of his eight misses only one was from outside the paint. His ability to get blocks and rebounds while being an undersized center is amazing and should give Brad Stevens hope for the future.