[Mr KLC]

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Maine Red Claws (Celtics) 10-6
Westchester Knicks (Knicks) 9-6
Delaware 87er's (76er's) 8-7
Long Island Nets (Nets) 5-12
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets) 5-12
Erie Bayhawks (Magic) 4-11

CENTRAL DIVISION

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers) 11-3
Raptors 905 (Raptors) 11-4
Grand Rapids Drive (Pistons) 8-9
Canton Charge (Cavaliers) 7-8
Windy City Bulls (Bulls) 6-9

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION

Los Angeles D-Fenders (Lakers) 13-4
Northern Arizona Suns (Suns) 10-5
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors) 8-8
Reno Bighorns (Kings) 5-10
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) 3-13

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat) 12-3
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) 11-7
Texas Legends (Mavericks) 9-6
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder) 10-7
Austin Spurs (Spurs) 7-10
Iowa Energy (Grizzlies) 2-14

[Mr KLC]

Scoring Leaders

1 Pierre Jackson
g / tex 29.1

2 Manny Harris
g / tex 25.7

3 Quinn Cook
g / ctn 25.0

4 Vander Blue
g / lad 23.2

5 Kevin Murphy
g / grd 23.0

[Mr KLC]

Red Claws Survive Drive’s Late Surge

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A last-minute comeback attempt by the Grand Rapids Drive (8-9) fell just short and the Maine Red Claws (10-6) snapped a three-game losing streak on Friday night at the DeltaPlex, winning by a 106-104 final.

The Drive had won four of their last five, but dropped their second game in a row. Maine pulled ahead by eight in the second quarter and kept the lead in that range until the final 40 seconds of the game, where the Drive came flying back.

Grand Rapids scored the game’s final nine points after trailing 106-95, and had a chance to tie at the final buzzer after a fourth consecutive defensive stop, but Jordan Crawford’s layup attempt did not make it over the front rim, and Chris Horton’s late follow did not fall.

The Red Claws entered the game with four players averaging at least 16 points per game, and they continued to show off that balanced scoring attack. Nine players scored at least seven points, led by 21 from Jalen Jones and 17 from Marcus Georges-Hunt.

Ray McCallum was the star performer for the Drive, recording just the second triple-double in franchise history (Nate Wolters owning the first in 2014-15). He scored 23 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists, tying his season high in assists and setting a new season high in rebounds. Kevin Murphy used an 11-of-13 performance at the free-throw line to score 27 points despite going just 6-of-23 from the field. Crawford chipped in 21 points off the bench.

The lead changed hands 13 times in the first 17 minutes before the Red Claws went on an 8-2 run to go up 48-40. They carried that into a 56-49 halftime advantage, which they kept around that margin until late in the fourth. Both teams struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, and the Drive could not string together baskets and stops until the very last minute.

In a matchup between the two top three-point shooting teams in the D-League, the volume was there but the efficiency lagged behind. Maine shot 38 attempts and 34 percent, and the Drive had 31 attempts at 32 percent. The Drive were also under 40 percent from the field as a team.

Both teams were great from the free throw line and also earned plenty of trips there, as the Red Claws were 25-of-30 and the Drive 26-of-31. The Drive only turned the ball over 11 times and won the battle on the offensive glass by getting 11 rebounds on that end, but they could not quite make up for the difference in efficiency.

[Mr KLC]

Raptors 905 Win Second Night Of Back-To-Back With Knicks

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The Raptors 905 (11-4) sought and gained revenge on the Westchester Knicks (9-6), the official NBA Development League affiliate of the New York Knickerbockers, with a 116-95 win after dropping the previous night’s contest.

Chasson Randle and Jordon Crawford paced the Knicks with 26 points each, Randle adding four rebounds and Crawford adding three assists and steals. New York Knicks assignee Marshall Plumlee just missed a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. His teammate Ron Baker contributed 10 points with nine assists, seven rebounds, a block, and a steal.

Brady Heslip finished with a game-high 32 points, hitting 10-of-15 from beyond the arc, hitting 10-of-18 total shots. Axel Toupane came off the bench for 14 points to go with three rebounds, while John Jordan had 13. Bruno Caboclo also had 13 points, with four assists and three steals while his fellow starters Will Sheehey and E.J. Singler each had 10.

The teams remained even through the first, the only big numbers coming from the 905’s Brady Heslip, who began his shooting barrage hitting 4-of-6 from downtown. Westchester’s Chasson Randle responded with a nice 10-point second quarter, hitting two of his three attempts from the arc, and the teams finished the first half at a tie.

Raptors 905 used a 13-4 run to start the second half, taking as much as a 16-point lead in the third.

Heslip’s most ferocious attack came in this quarter, as he racked up 20 points off 6-of-7 shooting, all from three-point land. Finding themselves down by 13 heading into the final quarter, the Knicks struggled early in the fourth, letting the Raptors 905 take a 25-point advantage with just over four minutes to go. It would prove to be a deficit too wide to overcome, as Westchester took a 21-point loss.

[Mr KLC]

Mad Ants Get Past 87ers

WILMINGTON, Del. — Shawn Long had one of his best games of the season, which is saying a lot for the Louisiana-Lafayette product. He led both teams with 28 points and 19 rebounds (including 11 offensive rebounds), but the Delaware 87ers (8-7) fell to the visiting Fort Wayne Mad Ants 106-97.

“I think he was being aggressive around the basket,” Head Coach Eugene Burroughs said. “Our focus with him was attacking the rim, and we’re trying to go at Poythress, who’s a really good player and playing with foul trouble, and we actually accomplished that. In the first quarter and second quarter he got fouls, and Shawn was able to dominate a little bit.”

Long’s work wasn’t solely on the offensive end, either. He defended Alex Poythress, Fort Wayne’s standout player, hard throughout the contest.

“He did a good job, and that’s a tough cover for him, a guy like Poythress, who can score and who’s athletic,” Burroughs said. “I think their team did a great job putting Shawn in pick-and-rolls and hitting Poythress on rolls with Shawn out of position. But, I thought he did a great job defensively, and he was active.”

The game was close the whole way through. After struggling out of the gate and finding themselves down 11-3, the Sevens started to get their offense going and ended the first quarter down 28-26. The close play continued in the second quarter, which the 87ers lost by two, 29-27. At halftime, Delaware was down 57-53.

The Sevens were without Cat Barber, whose ankle injury kept him sidelined. Brandon Triche and Mikh McKinney played in his place, with Triche earning his second start of the year. Triche finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists, while McKinney turned in his best game of the season with 12 points on 5-7 shooting.

“It’s hard to replace a guy like Cat who has run the show for us pretty much the whole season and scores 16 points a game for us,” Burroughs said. “I thought those guys did a good job for us, getting us in the offense.”

In the third quarter, the Mad Ants started to pull away. They won the frame 28-22 behind some timely offense and big stops. The Mad Ants held a 10-point lead after three, and didn’t give up an inch the rest of the way, leading to a final score of 106-97.

“I think they’re a physical team,” Burroughs said. “They’re a veteran team. They have a lot of guys that don’t make a lot of mistakes. Their ability to go off the dribble and attack you is probably, at least for the teams we’ve played so far, one of the best in the league. They have about four guys that can actually do that.”

[Mr KLC]

Blue Rally Past Suns

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Arizona — The Northern Arizona Suns had the game in control, leading by 16 points at one time and holding a lead until there was 9.8 seconds left in the game. The Oklahoma City Blue managed to complete the comeback and beat the Suns at the Prescott Valley Event Center 101-97.

This marked the Suns’ fourth consecutive loss, dropping them to 10-5 after beginning the season 10-1. The win bumped up the Blue to 10-7.

Elijah Millsap had achieved a double-double by the time the third period buzzer had sounded, and he finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals. But he fouled out of the game with 2.7 seconds remaining, and it was ruled a flagrant after review, meaning the Blue would get two shots and the ball in a tied game. Myke Henry sank both his free throws, and after getting fouled on the ensuing possession, Kaleb Tarczewski drained both of his foul shots.

“I thought we weren’t disciplined once again towards the end. I really don’t know how to explain it,” Suns head coach Ty Ellis said. “I just told the guys the game plan is on the board, and when guys start trying to do it their own way, that tends to happen.

“Every team in this league is good. The record doesn’t mean nothing, because the record is indicative of call-ups, of assignments; so many variables go into a team’s record. So you can’t look at the record and say, ‘Well, because our record is better we should beat them.’ You have to go out and do it. It’s unfortunate we took a loss like this. Hopefully we will learn from it and kind of move on.”

The Suns took their first loss of the season in a game where they outshot their opponent, ruining a perfect 10-0 record in such games. Northern Arizona also doubled the Blue in assists 18-9, outrebounded Oklahoma City 50-44, and had more steals and blocked shots.

But the Blue was able to overcome it all with the big production the team got from Alex Caruso, Daniel Hamilton and Tarczewski. Caruso was the one who stole the ball with only a few seconds left to give Henry his chance at the go-ahead free throws. The starting point guard finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Hamilton also put up a 20-point game, adding eight rebounds to his line. Tarczewski scored 19 points off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting, plus 11-of-13 from the free throw line, to go with nine rebounds. He contributed to the bench’s total of 49 points, which ran just four players deep.

Johnny O’Bryant tallied 17 points and six rebounds, and the center led his team in assists with four. He also had a season-high two steals. Shaquille Harrison scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, to go along with three rebounds and three assists.

Just re-assigned from the Phoenix Suns, Derrick Jones Jr. led the Suns bench with 10 points and three blocks. Derek Cooke Jr. scored six points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

[Mr KLC]

[Mr KLC]

Sun, Dec 25
8:00 PM ET
NORTHERN ARIZONA SUNS
SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE

You can watch D-League games live on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/

Catch past games on:

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/...4621936930289/

[Mr KLC]

The Orlando Magic have purchased the NBA Developmental League's Erie BayHawks and will relocate the team from Pennsylvania to Lakeland, Florida, beginning with the 2017-18 season.

The Magic and the NBA D-League announced the move Wednesday morning in Lakeland. With the purchase and relocation of the team, the Magic becomes the 17th NBA team to own and operate a NBA D-League franchise.

By moving the team 55 miles from downtown Orlando, the Magic will have greater flexibility in getting some of their younger players meaningful playing experience. Rookie center Stephen Zimmerman has spent limited time with the Erie BayHawks this season.

The NBA D-League team will play its 24 home games at The Lake Center and a future practice facility is being planned in Winter Haven, Florida.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/ar...#storylink=cpy

[Mr KLC]

Sun, Dec 25
8:00 PM ET
NORTHERN ARIZONA SUNS
SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE

You can watch D-League games live on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/

Catch past games on:

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/...4621936930289/

[Mr KLC]

GRAND RAPIDS -- The NBA Development League ranked Grand Rapids Drive point guard Ray McCallum No. 1 on its Top 25 NBA Prospect Watch rankings released last week.

McCallum didn't care too much about the news after it was brought up to him following Saturday's 107-96 loss to the Delaware 87ers at DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids.

He just wants to get back to the NBA.

"I've been acknowledged by that, yeah, but obviously, it doesn't mean anything for me," said McCallum, who was in training camp with the Detroit Pistons before being cut and finding a home with their D-League affiliate, the Drive.

Since the Sacramento Kings drafted McCallum in the second round of the 2013 NBA draft, he has bounced around the league. He played for San Antonio and Memphis before signing with the Pistons this past summer.

He was expected to be a rotational player for Detroit, especially while it started the season without Reggie Jackson (knee) for the first month, but he became a roster casualty almost 48 hours after the Pistons signed Beno Udrih off waivers from Miami.

The former Detroit Mercy point guard signed with Grand Rapids immediately afterward. He hasn't stopped working on getting back to the NBA since.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nb...llum/95441056/

[Mr KLC]

SIOUX FALLS, SD – The Sioux Falls Skyforce (13-3) limited the Northern Arizona Suns (10-6) to two points in each of the two overtime periods to earn a 96-94 win on Sunday night at the Sanford Pentagon. The win marks 18 straight regular season home victories for the Skyforce, the longest active streak in the NBA D-League.

It was a back-and-forth game from tip off as there were eight lead changes in the first half of play. The Skyforce trailed by three points after the first period, and weren’t able to make up any ground in the second quarter, entering halftime with the Suns lead of 47-43.

Briante Weber (24 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals) led the way the entire game for the Skyforce, tallying 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the first half alone. His 16 rebounds marked a new career high, and his triple-double was his third of the season.

The Suns led by as many as 11 points in the second half before the Skyforce came back to take a 79-78 lead on an Okaro White tip-in with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter. A missed floater from Weber missed as time expired in regulation, and the two teams heading into overtime, marking the first overtime game the Skyforce have played in this season.

With the Skyforce trailing 92-90 at the end of the first overtime, Marcus Posley (16 points) was fouled shooting a three-point jump shot with 1.5 seconds left. After missing the first, Posley calmly knocked down the second two shots to force double overtime.

Defense prevailed yet again in double-overtime, and the Suns only managed two more points, ultimately losing on an Okaro White turnaround floater in the lane with 25.4 seconds left. The Suns’ Elijah Millsap (24 points and 12 rebounds) missed a three-point jump shot with 3.4 seconds remaining and Weber’s 16th rebound sealed the win for the Skyforce.

Both Millsap and Johnny O’Bryant III (13 points and 13 rebounds) recorded double-doubles in the loss for the Suns, while Phoenix Suns assignee Derrick Jones, Jr. tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. Josh Gray (19 points) rounded out the double figure scoring for the Suns.

Keith Benson matched a season-high with 25 points in the win, scoring 17 of his points in the second half alone. Okaro White totaled 11 points and nine rebounds, while first round draft pick Ike Nwamu scored nine points in his first start of his NBA D-League career.

Luis Montero finished with a team-high in +/- off the bench, finishing plus-eight in the game while recording an NBA D-League career-high 13 rebounds.

The Skyforce now hit the road for a three-game road trip to finish the month of December, traveling west to Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City before returning home to play the Texas Legends on January 6, 2017.

[Mr KLC]

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Maine Red Claws (Celtics) 10-6
Westchester Knicks (Knicks) 9-6
Delaware 87er's (76er's) 8-7
Long Island Nets (Nets) 5-12
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets) 5-12
Erie Bayhawks (Magic) 4-11

CENTRAL DIVISION

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers) 11-3
Raptors 905 (Raptors) 11-4
Grand Rapids Drive (Pistons) 8-9
Canton Charge (Cavaliers) 7-8
Windy City Bulls (Bulls) 6-9

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION

Los Angeles D-Fenders (Lakers) 13-4
Northern Arizona Suns (Suns) 10-6
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors) 8-8
Reno Bighorns (Kings) 5-10
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) 3-13

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat) 13-3
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) 11-7
Texas Legends (Mavericks) 9-6
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder) 10-7
Austin Spurs (Spurs) 7-10
Iowa Energy (Grizzlies) 2-14

[Mr KLC]

Rebounding Leaders

1 MATT COSTELLO
24 / F / IWA 11.6

2 KEITH BENSON
5 / C / SXF 10.8

3 CLIFF ALEXANDER
2 / F / ERI 9.9

4 SHAWN LONG
21 / C / DEL 9.7

4 ERIC MORELAND
25 / F / CTN 9.7

[Mr KLC]

Mon, Dec 26

1:30 PM ET
WESTCHESTER KNICKS
LONG ISLAND NETS


2:00 PM ET
FORT WAYNE MAD ANTS
GREENSBORO SWARM

You can watch D-League games live on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/

Catch past games on:

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/...4621936930289/

[Mr KLC]

Over the years, the Iowa Energy have been able to bolster their roster with players who have ties to the state.

The Energy have had players like Curtis Stinson, Jeff Horner and Matt Gatens.

Iowa’s NBA Development League team now has another familiar face.

Cedar Rapids native and former Northern Iowa basketball player Wes Washpun has signed with the Energy.

Washpun could be in uniform when the Energy take on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNews.

Washpun is another in a long line of players the Energy have had on their roster with ties to the state.

Stinson starred at Iowa State, and Horner grew up in Mason City before going on to a successful career at Iowa. Gatens, a native of Iowa City and former Hawkeye, began the season with the Energy before suffering an injury.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...7953d502f0fc98

[Mr KLC]

Tue, Dec 27

MAINE RED CLAWS 98
ERIE BAYHAWKS 101


DELAWARE 87ERS 108
RAPTORS 905 120

RIO GRANDE VALLEY VIPERS 139
IOWA ENERGY 115

SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE 98
SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS 115

[Mr KLC]

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Maine Red Claws (Celtics) 10-7
Westchester Knicks (Knicks) 9-7
Delaware 87er's (76er's) 8-8
Long Island Nets (Nets) 6-12
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets) 6-12
Erie Bayhawks (Magic) 5-11

CENTRAL DIVISION

Raptors 905 (Raptors) 12-4
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers) 11-4
Grand Rapids Drive (Pistons) 8-9
Canton Charge (Cavaliers) 7-8
Windy City Bulls (Bulls) 6-9

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION

Los Angeles D-Fenders (Lakers) 13-4
Northern Arizona Suns (Suns) 10-6
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors) 9-8
Reno Bighorns (Kings) 5-10
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) 3-13

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat) 13-4
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) 12-7
Texas Legends (Mavericks) 9-6
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder) 10-7
Austin Spurs (Spurs) 7-10
Iowa Energy (Grizzlies) 2-15

[Mr KLC]

Wed, Dec 28
7:00 PM ET
GREENSBORO SWARM
CANTON CHARGE


7:00 PM ET
GRAND RAPIDS DRIVE
FORT WAYNE MAD ANTS

8:00 PM ET
RENO BIGHORNS
OKLAHOMA CITY BLUE

8:30 PM ET
TEXAS LEGENDS
AUSTIN SPURS

10:30 PM ET
SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE
LOS ANGELES D-FENDERS

You can watch D-League games live on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/

Catch past games on:

https://www.facebook.com/nbadleague/...4621936930289/

[Mr KLC]

Assists per game

1 josh magette
9 / g / lad 9.7

2 donnie mcgrath
7 / g / lin 9.2

3 julyan stone
5 / g / fwn 8.1

4 ray mccallum
2 / g / grd 7.5

5 briante weber
11 / g / sxf 6.9

[Mr KLC]

Baylor-ex Pierre Jackson was leading the D-League with a 29.1-point scoring average for the Frisco-based Texas Legends.

It was a matter of time before an NBA team called up the explosive guard, who is listed at 5-11 but looks to be no taller than 5-8.

Taking no chances, the Mavericks on Tuesday not only promoted Jackson to the NBA roster, but also, according to a team source, gave him a partially guaranteed two-year contract. To make room on the roster, Dallas waived guard Jonathan Gibson.

"We wanted to make sure that we got a real close look at him," said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, adding that he believes Jackson is more of a pure point guard than Gibson.

"Just cherishing this moment," said Jackson, 25, of suiting up for his first NBA game Tuesday against Houston, for which he wore jersey No. 55. "I feel real fortunate to be in this position."

Jackson was selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, No. 42 overall, by Philadelphia, but his rights soon were traded to New Orleans.

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dall...me-nba-uniform

[Ra77er]

They fired Iowa Energy coach Matt Woodley recently, the team has been mix and match all year apparently and I'm guessing the Grizzly brass want results regardless. Thanks for the thread KLC.