66ers Last Second Three Knocks Down D-Fenders
March 21, 2009 - NBA G League (G League)
Tulsa 66ers News Release
Tulsa, OK - With 9.2 seconds remaining in the game, Tulsa 66ers guard Gary Forbes hit a three-point shot and was fouled, for a four-point play that pulled the 66ers to within 95-96 behind the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Brandon Heath hit one-of-two free throws to extend the lead for Los Angeles, but a Moses Ehambe three-pointer buried the D-Fenders 97-96 at the SpiritBank Event Center on Saturday.
"It was good to have one go our way, our guys really battled for 48 minutes tonight," 66ers Head Coach Paul Woolpert said.
Tulsa was down by as much as 11 points with 7:53 remaining in the game, but an Ehambe three-pointer jump started an 8-0 run that pulled the 66ers to within 85-88 with four minutes left. A dish from Shaun Livingston to Forbes for a layup, a jumper from D.J. White and two D-Fender turnovers set up the game for the exciting finish. Forbes scored eight of game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles had seven of their 21 turnovers in the final period.
Los Angeles jumped out early in the first quarter to a nine-point lead, as Tulsa turned the ball over five times. Sun Yue, on assignment to the D-Fenders from the Los Angeles Lakers, pushed the lead to 15-6 with two assists and a layup. The 66ers went on a furious 9-0 run in a matter of two minutes, capped by a Forbes jumper from the wing, that tied the game at 15 with 2:39 remaining in the quarter, and both teams remained tied at 21 at the break.
White, on assignment to the 66ers from the Oklahoma City Thunder, scored nine points in the third quarter, as Tulsa built their largest lead of the game at 67-59 with 5:44 remaining. The D-Fenders would not go away however, going on a 10-2 spurt to tie the game at 69, as Joe Crawford nailed two free throws and hit an easy layup with 3:09 remaining in the period.
Both teams shot well from the field, as Tulsa hit 39-of-79 shots (49.4 percent) and Los Angeles hit 40-of-72 (55.6 percent). Each team had 26 assists for the game.
The D-Fenders finished with seven players scoring in double-figures, led by Crawford's 21 points and six rebounds. Yue finished with a season-high 14 points on six-of-eight shooting, to go along with four rebounds, and three blocks. Charlie Parker added 14 points, while Dwayne Mitchell and Ryan Forehan-Kelly had 11 points each. Heath and Earl Barron each finished with 10 points, as Barron added seven rebounds and six assists off the bench.
Led by Forbes, Tulsa had five players in double-figures scoring. White finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Keith Clark added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Ehambe contributed 12 points off the bench on 4-for-6 shooting from three-point range, and Livingston added 10 points and five assists.
Los Angeles (15-28) continues for the second game of their four-game road swing on Thursday, March 26 at Fort Wayne. Tulsa (10-32) faces the Dakota Wizards tomorrow night at home.
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