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D-Fenders Win in Reno, Move to 15-5 on the Year

January 4, 2017 - NBA G League (G League)
Los Angeles D-Fenders News Release


RENO, Nevada - Playing for the first time in 2017, the D-Fenders still looked like the league's highest scoring offense, defeating the Reno Bighorns on Tuesday at the Reno Events Center, 125-118.

Los Angeles (15-5) enjoyed one of their most well-rounded offensive displays of the year in the win. Vander Blue led the way with 26 points. Meanwhile, Josh Magette totaled 22 points and 10 assists, joining Jeff Ayres (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Travis Wear (12 points, 10 rebounds) in the double-double category. Justin Harper and Roscoe Smith were the other double-digit men, scoring 13 and 14, respectively.

Reno (6-12) got 33 points from Lamar Patterson, while Isaiah Cousins followed with 22 points on the day. Reggie Hearn totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bighorns' only double-double, and Georgios Papagiannis (19 points) and Skal Labissiere (12) rounded out the team's double-figure scorers.

The D-Fenders struggled to shoot the ball early in the game and would connect on just 37.5 percent of their attempts from the field in the first quarter. Patterson accounted for 11 Reno points in the frame, sparking a 10-0 run early in the game to give the home team a 10-point advantage. It would be their biggest lead of the day.

Blue took control in the next quarter, scoring 16 in the second period to spur a 17-5 D-Fenders run. Los Angeles would outscore Reno 34-20 in the frame and led by eight at halftime, 60-52.

Reno was focused on containing Blue in the second half, opening up some looks for his D-Fenders teammates. Magette took advantage by scoring 11 points in the third frame alone. Los Angeles owned a two-point edge in the quarter and entered the final frame with a 97-87 advantage.

LA's offensive balance continued to show in the fourth period, as yet another visiting player led the team in scoring. This time it was Ayres, who scored nine points in the frame. Reno would pull to within five points in the game's closing seconds before the D-Fenders ultimately took a seven-point win.

Reno owned the advantage in field goal percentage (.506-.461), but Los Angeles had less turnovers (17-13) and performed better from the free throw line, shooting 30-of-37 (.811) while Reno went 21-of-33 (.636).

The D-Fenders will next play against the Iowa Energy at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 5, at the Toyota Sports Center.

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About the Los Angeles D-Fenders: The NBA Development League's Los Angeles D-Fenders return for the team's 10th season of competition in 2016-17. The first franchise in D-League history to be owned by an NBA team, the D-Fenders franchise has established itself as a top producer of NBA-ready talent, totaling 23 NBA Call-Ups and developing 18 Lakers assignment players since the inaugural 2006-07 season. The D-Fenders have claimed two division titles and have twice participated in the NBA D-League Finals.als.

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