LEGENDS TAKE THE WHEEL...
January 22, 2018 - NBA G League (G League)
Texas Legends News Release
FRISCO, TX - The Texas Legends (16-11) put on a show for a sold-out home crowd Friday night in Frisco defeating the Grand Rapids Drive (14-16) 146-114 in a season-high performance.
Johnathan Motley came out in full force, dominating both ends in the first to finish with 11 points, 5 rebounds. JJ Avila took the outside approach with a long ball to put the Legends up by 8 near the four minute mark. Grand Rapids responded with an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the night but Avila struck from outside again to regain control. The Drive would grab an edge two more times, holding on longer in the second, but Texas used a combined 21-point effort from Jameel Warney and Donald Sloan to pull a double-digit gap.
The lead continued to expand in the second half as Texas' shooting heated up. The home team saw more double-digit performances from Motley (10) and Sloan (12) in the third, and with a 24-point advantage the home team never looked back. Texas spread the offense in the fourth with nine of the roster's ten seeing the scoreboard. At the evening's high 38-point gap, Grand Rapids responded with a 7-point run but Texas was beyond reach.
The 32-point final gap was the largest for the Legends so far in a season-high scoring (was 129) and efficiency (56.5%) performance. The efforts were led by Sloan who set yet another season-record for the team with 9-of-10 three pointers to finish with 34 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. The Legends' duo of bigs had another equally large night with Motley adding 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks and Warney tallying 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Wade Baldwin IV grabbed 18 points, 6 rebounds, and Avila rounded out the double-digit scoring with 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists off the bench.
Marcus Thornton led the Drive with 23 points while Derek Willis grabbed the game's only double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds. Kenneth Smith dished out a game-high 13 assists.
Texas will return to the court Saturday hosting the Rio Grande Valley Vipers at 7:30pm for the Legends' annual Military Appreciation Night benefiting the American Fallen Soldiers Project.
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