Maine Takes Control Late to Defeat Texas at Showcase
January 18, 2015 - NBA G League (G League)
Texas Legends News Release
SANTA CRUZ, CA. Jan. 18, 2015 - The Maine Red Claws pulled out a 106-101 win over the Texas Legends in a see-saw battle at the 2015 NBA D-League Showcase presented by Samsung.
Chris Babb recorded his second straight and fifth double-double of the season with team-highs 20 points and 10 rebounds. His three-pointer with 3.5 seconds and the shot clock about to expire put away Texas for good. He shot 6-for-11 on the day and nailed four-of-seven attempts from three-point range.
Jason Calliste came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting, to go along with four assists, four steals and two rebounds. He hit four of his six attempts from long distance and made all four of his shots from the free-throw line.
Maine started the game by nailing three consecutive three-pointers to open up an early 9-1 lead. Texas overcame the slow start compliments of three-point shooting of their own, they connected on four consecutive three-pointers that eventually gave Texas a 29-28 lead after the first quarter.
After taking a 55-51 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Legends took control in the third quarter and went up 62-51 after Doron Lamb completed a traditional three-point play. Lamb finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, to go along with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Red Claws trailed 85-73 after three quarters, but outscored the Legends 33-16 in the fourth quarter to lock down the win. After struggling from the foul line all game, Maine connected on 10-of-11 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter and took their first lead since the first quarter when Christian Watford converted on two free throws to give Maine a 101-99 lead. Entering the fourth quarter, Maine had only made good on 12-of-21 attempts from the line.
Renaldo Balkman turned in a strong effort off the bench for Texas, recording a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also tallied four blocks in the defeat.
Maine concluded their showcase stint with a split of their two games and they remain owners of the D-League's best record at 17-5. They will be back at it on Jan. 21 when they take on the Erie BayHawks. Texas (12-10) will be back in action on Jan. 22 as they travel to take on the Austin Spurs.
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