14ers Advance to Finals with Late Rally over Austin
April 18, 2009 - NBA G League (G League)
Colorado 14ers News Release
DENVER - The Colorado 14ers overcame an 11 point fourth quarter deficit to take a 114-111 win over the Austin Toros in the NBA Development League semi-finals at the Broomfield Event Center Saturday night. Colorado finished the game on a 23-10 run in the final 7:45 to advance to the D-League Finals for the second time in three seasons. The 14ers will meet the winner of Monday's Dakota Wizards - Utah Flash match-up in the D-League Championship Series.
Denver Nuggets assigned player Sonny Weems led the Colorado comeback, scoring 14 of his team-high 27 points in the fourth quarter. Weems tied the game at 103 with a 3-pointer from the right corner with 5:32 to play, and gave the 14ers the lead for good on a fast break dunk with 4:36 remaining. He then connected on four free throws in the final 15 seconds to ice the win for the 14ers.
Colorado overcame a monster effort from the Toros big three of Marcus Williams, Malik Hairston, and Dwayne Jones. Williams had a triple-double with 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. Hairston poured in a game-high 37 points on 15-24 shooting, and Jones added 24 on 12-15 from the field in the loss.
"They're a heck of a team and to come back from 11 down shows you what kind of team we have," said 14ers Head Coach Bob MacKinnon. "This was a total team effort, and I'm so proud of how we played as a team."
Austin outscored Colorado 70-34 in the paint, but was only able to convert one field goal in the lane in the final 9:00 of the game. Meanwhile, the 14ers connected on their first four attempts from 3-point range en route to a 12-22 night from behind the arc in the win.
Eddie Gill led Colorado's sharp-shooting effort, going 4-6 from three and scoring 23 points to go along with seven assists. Billy Thomas added 16 points in knocking down 2-3 from downtown in the win.
Austin season comes to an end after posting a 32-18 record in the regular season and winning an opening round playoff game over Idaho. Colorado now improves to 2-0 in the post-season and 36-16 overall. The 14ers await the winner of Monday's Dakota-Utah game in the D-League Finals that will begin next week at a date and time to be determined. The Finals will be a best two out of three series beginning on the road for Colorado, with games two and three at the Broomfield Event Center if necessary.
For more information on the 14ers schedule and team, log on to www.14ershoops.com. Tickets for all 14ers home games at the Broomfield Event Center are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, 303-830-TIXS, and at www.ticketmaster.com.
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NBA G League Stories from April 18, 2009
- 14ers Advance to Finals with Late Rally over Austin - Colorado 14ers
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