RGV Vipers Fall to Sioux Falls Skyforce in Thriller
January 12, 2017 - NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release
Hidalgo, Texas- The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (15-9), NBA D-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, dropped the last home game of January to Sioux Falls Skyforce(17-5) 135-129. Sioux Falls' Briante Weber had a triple-double on the night.
For the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Kyle Wiltjer led the team in scoring with 27 points. Darius Morris had another double-double with 22 points and 11 assists. Briante Weber had 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Sioux Falls Skyforce started the game shooting well and went 12-24 in the first quarter and had two of their players reach double-digits. Briante Weber and Okaro White both had 10 points in the opening quarter. The Vipers were able to erase the eight-point lead that Sioux Falls had over them. A buzzer-beater from behind the half court helped the Vipers extend their lead and finish the quarter 32-28.
Rio Grande Valley's Darius Morris got the hot hand in the second quarter. Morris scored 13 points in the second, including three three-pointers. Kyle Wiltjer added eight points in the quarter to help the Vipers reach a double-digit lead and finish the half on top 68-57. Jabril Trawick, starter for Sioux Falls Skyforce, was ejected from the game with 2:55 remaining in the first half.
Skyforce put up a big performance in the third quarter, putting up 40 points. Keith Benson scored 13 points in the quarter for Sioux Falls. After 15 lead changes in the third quarter, Sioux Falls finished the quarter on top of the Vipers 96-97. After regaining the lead in the early minutes of the final quarter, the Vipers sought to hold on to it. The Sioux Falls Skyforce would end up outscoring the Vipers 383-38 to finish the game 129-135 and hand the RGV Vipers their second loss at home.
Rio Grande Valley hits the road and prepare for a back-to-back series against Texas Legends on January 13 and 14. Both games will tip off at 7:30p.m. Sioux Falls Skyforce return home and face Erie Bayhawks on January 13.
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