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G League Grand Rapids Drive

Red Claws Come Alive in Fourth to Beat Drive

December 29, 2017 - NBA G League (G League)
Grand Rapids Drive News Release


GRAND RAPIDS - The Maine Red Claws (11-10) trailed by five points to the Grand Rapids Drive (11-11) going into the fourth quarter on the road Thursday night, but outscored the Drive 32-18 in the final frame to escape with a 97-90 victory. The Red Claws had not scored more than 24 points in the previous three quarters, but turned it up in the fourth. Maine got quick revenge for the loss the Drive handed them on December 22.

L.J. Peak paced six Maine players in double figures with 24 points off the bench. Trey Davis hit nine free throws on his way to 19 points and Devin Williams had 13 points and 17 rebounds, with eight of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. The Red Claw defense allowed 29 points in the third quarter, but did not allow more than 21 points in any of the other quarters.

The Drive were also led in scoring by a bench player, as KJ McDaniels scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 26 minutes. Marcus Thornton also provided 18 points and seven boards off the bench. Landry Nnoko was the highest-scoring Drive starter with 14 points and also had 17 rebounds, setting a new Drive season high with nine offensive rebounds. The loss ended a four-game winning streak by Grand Rapids, tying their longest of the season.

Both teams' starting units struggled offensively, and it was a decidedly low-scoring game through the first two quarters, as the halftime score was just 41-41. But the biggest story of the game was the Drive's inability to get scoring from their starting five. Nnoko's 14 was the high water mark, and overall the Drive starters contributed 35 points.

The Red Claws were out-rebounded by a 56-43 margin and lost the turnover battle 14-12, but they shot 32 percent from deep compared to a season-low 18 percent by Grand Rapids. They also knocked down 16-of-19 free throws and made two more field goals than the Drive despite putting up 11 fewer attempts.

Having snapped a short two-game skid, the Red Claws will look to keep it going as they host the Lakeland Magic on Sunday. The Drive head to Fort Wayne to play the Mad Ants on Saturday for their next game.

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