Sports stats



G League Oklahoma City Blue

Blue Comes up Short to D-Fenders, 94-90

November 24, 2015 - NBA G League (G League)
Oklahoma City Blue News Release


OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 24, 2015 - The Oklahoma City Blue came up short in a defensive battle to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, 94-90, on Tuesday at the Cox Convention Center. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Josh Huestis led the game in scoring with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go with five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in 37 minutes.

Dakari Johnson (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Kameron Woods (11 points, 15 rebounds) recorded double-doubles as six Blue players scored in double digits. Marquis Teague tallied 16 points and dished out six assists and Boubacar Moungoro scored a career-high 12 points while picking up three steals. Talib Zanna added 10 points and nine boards.

The Blue and D-Fenders played a closely contested first half where neither team led by more than four points as Los Angeles took a 49-48 advantage into the break. The D-Fenders built their largest lead of the night early in the fourth quarter with a 76-67 advantage before the Blue responded with 14-4 run to go up by one with over eight minutes remaining.

Los Angeles re-took the lead and entered the final minute of play with a 92-88 lead, but the Blue quickly closed the gap to two on a fast-break layup by Teague after a steal from Zanna. The OKC defense then forced the D-Fenders to throw the ball away on an inbounds play, giving the Blue possession with 16.1 seconds remaining. The Blue setup a game-tying shot attempt for Johnson on an open 18-foot jumper, but the ball rolled out and was rebounded by Manny Harris - forcing OKC to foul and send Harris to the foul line where he sealed LA's road win.

Oklahoma City held the D-Fenders to 19 points on 6-of-21 shooting in the final quarter. Blue Head Coach Mark Daigneault attributes the Blue's defense to what kept the team fighting in the late minutes.

"One thing I thought was really encouraging tonight was that defensively we kept ourselves in the game," said Daigneault. "That's what really good defensive teams do - they scratch, they claw, they keep themselves in the game regardless of what's going on on offense. I was really encouraged by that."

The Blue (0-5) outrebounded Los Angeles 49-42 and blocked seven shots.

All five D-Fenders starters scored in double figures as Manny Harris led Los Angeles (5-1) with 17 points and eight boards.

Oklahoma City is back in action on Saturday when it heads south of the Red River for a road meeting with the Texas Legends. The game will air live on YouTube at 7 p.m. For more information, visit OklahomCityBlue.com.

Check out the Oklahoma City Blue Statistics

• Discuss this story on the NBA G League message board...

NBA G League Stories from November 24, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Oklahoma City Blue Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central