
D-Fenders fall short
December 1, 2009 - NBA G League (G League)
Los Angeles D-Fenders News Release
EL SEGUNDO- The D-Fenders fell short 84-85 after a back and forth battle with the Utah Flash. Dontell Jefferson led the Flash with 21 points, while Diamon Simpson scored 17 for Los Angeles.
Utah closed out the first quarter 22-16 over the D-Fenders. Michael Fey of the D-Fenders led the team with four points and Utah's Bennet Davis led the Flash with nine points. The D-Fenders committed eight turnovers to Utah's five.
The D-Fenders trailed 36- 41 at the end of the half with the Flash outscoring the D-Fenders 21-20 in the second quarter. Fey continued to lead the D-Fenders in scoring with 10 points and James Jackson chipped in with five points. Los Angeles was held down outside of the arc, missing all six three-point attempts. Utah's Davis scored 11 points, with Orien Green and Andre Ingram adding eight apiece. Utah shot 91.7% from the free throw line at the half.
The D-Fenders came back late in the third quarter outscoring their competition 25-21. Horace Wormely helped narrow their deficit down to three with a three point shot at the buzzer. The D-Fenders' Diamon Simpson led the team with 12 points, eight of which he scored in the third quarter. Bennet Davis led his team with 15 points, while Greene and Jefferson added 14 and 10, respectively. Los Angeles scored 44 points in the paint, doubling Utah's 22 to end the third quarter.
"As a team collectively, we thought we were playing bad so when we stepped on the court [after halftime] with a different energy and that helped us get back into the game," said D-Fenders leading scorer, Diamon Simpson.
Los Angeles came back in the fourth quarter to take the lead at 74-73 with six minutes left in the game. Despite the D-Fenders outscoring Utah 23-21 in the fourth quarter, the D-Fenders gave up a total of 28 points in turnovers. Utah's Jefferson grabbed 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter sending the Flash into the lead at the end of the final quarter.
"I think we need to make better decisions with the ball and with loose balls. They [Utah] had 13 offensive rebounds and that is not good. The points they got off of turnovers wasn't good either," stated Head Coach Chucky Brown. "If we could have taken care of the ball and rebounded a little better it would have been a better outcome."
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