
D-Fenders vs. Northern Arizona Suns
November 23, 2016 - NBA G League (G League)
Los Angeles D-Fenders News Release
NOTEWORTHY TOP-10 D-FENDERS: Three D-Fenders are among the league's leaders in individual categories: Josh Magette (1st in assists, 11.5 apg), Vander Blue (8th in scoring, 25.3 ppg) and David Foster (2nd in blocks, 3.3 bpg).
ZUBAC, FIRST ASSIGNMENT OF THE YEAR: Los Angeles Lakers center Ivica Zubac returns to the D-Fenders after being re-assigned to the team on Nov. 22. He became the 22nd player to ever play for both the Lakers and their D-League affiliate after being originally assigned to the D-Fenders on Nov. 17 against Rio Grande Valley. The 7-1 Zubac finished the night with 13 points, three rebounds and two blocks. He is the 18th Lakers assignment player to be developed by the D-Fenders.
SANTA CRUZ'N: Notes from a notable win over Santa Cruz on Saturday, LA's second time to beat the Warriors in seven days:
- Vander Blue scored a team season-high 28 points - All five starters scored in double figures for the first time this season - Josh Magette dished a league-high 17 assists - LA scored 130+ points for the first time since Feb. 20, 2016 - Blue broke team's all-time def. rebounding record - Team shot +.500 percent from the field for first time this season - Magette moved to 17th on NBADL all-time assist list
EFFICIENT FORWARDS: Former all-star forwards Justin Harper and Roscoe Smith have made the most of their minutes this season. Harper is averaging 20.3 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds in only 26.5 minutes per game. Meanwhile, Smith is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per contest.
OFFENSE OFF TO HOT START: First year head coach Coby Karl spoke throughout the preseason about his desire to instill a fast-paced, high-scoring offense, and so far it looks like his vision is coming to life. Los Angeles comes into the day ranking first in the D-League for scoring average (124.3 ppg) and assists (27.8 apg), in addition to three-point attempts (35.8).
MAGETTE MOVES UP: Los Angeles point guard Josh Magette moved to 17th on the NBA D-League's all-time assists list on Saturday after notching a season-high 17 assists that is the best mark in the league this year. With 11 assists today, Magette would move to 16th all-time, passing Jameson Curry (815).
2016-17 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN - The D-Fenders have 10 sets of back-to-back games in 2016-17 - The longest home stand of the year is 10 days/four games (1/5-1/26, 12/1-12/10) - The longest road trip of the year is 11 days/six games (1/29-2/8) - Los Angeles will have three 'three-game in four-night' sets this season. - The D-Fenders will challenge the Sioux Falls Skyforce on four occasions this season in a rematch of last year's NBA D-League Finals.
DOUBLE DOWN JOSH: Josh Magette has recorded a team-leading two double-doubles this season, and they've come in the last two games: 11/17 vs. RGV (16 points and 13 assists) and 11/19 vs. SCW (19 points and 17 assists).
BLUE'S BEST: Blue, now in his third season with the D-Fenders, has stamped his name throughout the Los Angeles record book. Among his status as the franchise's all-time leading scorer, Blue is also LA's career leader in seven different categories.
MASTER MAGETTE: Josh Magette has positioned himself as perhaps the best point guard in LA's history. Now in his third season with the team, the Alabama-Huntsville graduate leads the D-Fenders in career assists (805) and steals (220).
BLUE AMONG THE LEAGUE'S ALL-TIME LEADERS: Blue's 2,986 career points with Los Angeles, Idaho, Delaware and Maine is currently good for 13th in NBA D-League history. The guard out of Marquette is 58 points away from surpassing Justin Dentmon for 12th place all-time.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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