14ers Beat Thunderbirds To Stop Five-Game Slide
January 15, 2008 - NBA G League (G League)
Colorado 14ers News Release
BOISE, ID, Jan. 15, 2008 - The Colorado 14ers snapped a five-game skid with a 98-81 win over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the second of four games today at the fourth annual D-League Showcase on Tuesday at Qwest Arena in downtown Boise.
The 14ers offense was led by forward Kaniel Dickens who finished the contest with 25 points while center Elton Brown chipped in a 19-point, 18-rebound double-double performance.
Colorado started the game with energy, jumping out to an 18-point lead at the close of the first period before the Thunderbirds worked their way back to finish the first stanza down by three. In the second half, the 14ers lead swelled to 19 on the back of Dickens' 13-point third period effort.
Overall, Colorado shot 46 percent (32-of-70) from the floor and 81 percent (25-of-31) from behind the free throw line while Albuquerque shot 31-of-70 (44 percent) from the floor and 13-of-23 (56 percent) from the charity stripe.
"We were on a five game slide and I thought Albuquerque came out and did a nice job understanding who we are and they took a few things away from us and scored easily against our defense but I think we did a good job just maintaining our offense and working to get the shots that we wanted," said 14ers head coach Joe Wolf following the game.
Alando Tucker, a guard on assignment from the Phoenix Suns, netted a game-high 26 points for Albuquerque, on 11-of-19 shooting, adding eight rebounds, in the Thunderbirds loss.
"It was a great opportunity, I just wish we had played better," said Jeff Ruland, Thunderbirds head coach. "We had over 20 turnovers and we missed open shots. That's not us. We will regroup and hopefully play a lot better tomorrow."
Colorado and Albuquerque will both be back in action this week with the Thunderbirds matching up against the Tulsa 66ers on Wednesday. The 14ers taking will face the 66ers on Thursday.
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