D-Fenders Fall to Mad Ants at NBADL Showcase

Published on January 16, 2015 under NBA G League (G League)
Los Angeles D-Fenders News Release


SANTA CRUZ - The Los Angeles D-Fenders fell to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants 104-98 this afternoon in Santa Cruz, CA.

Los Angeles (7-17) was led by Vander Blue, who scored 32 points, grabbed six rebounds, handed out five assists and had four steals in 43 minutes. Blue has scored 30 points or more in five-of-six games played in January. Roscoe Smith (21 points, 14 rebounds) recorded his 17th double-double of the season to lead the NBA D-League. Jabari Brown (21 points, seven rebounds) and Josiah Turner (15 points, five rebounds, five assists) also finished in double figures for the D-Fenders.

CJ Wilcox paced Fort Wayne (15-10) with 27 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Andre Emmett (24 points, 13 rebounds) also reached the 20-point plateau, while CJ Fair (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Gary Talton (13 points, eight assists) also scored in double digits for the Mad Ants.

Los Angeles started out hot, scoring 30 points in the first quarter behind 13 points from Brown. The defense of the D-Fenders was the key, holding Fort Wayne to 20.8% shooting and just 15 points in the quarter. The 15 points is a quarterly season low for a D-Fenders opponent. The Mad Ants started the second quarter on a 17-6 run, but L.A. was able to withstand the run and maintain a 52-43 lead at halftime. Brown had a game-high 17 points at the half, followed by Smith (14 points, nine rebounds) and Blue (14 points, three steals, two assists). Fort Wayne was paced by Emmett and Fair with 12 points apiece.

The second half was the Achilles heel for the D-Fenders, who were outscored 61-46. Fort Wayne outscored Los Angeles 29-26 in the third quarter, behind eight points from Wilcox. Blue led L.A. with nine points, followed by Turner with eight. The fourth quarter was the low point for the D-Fenders, who shot .292 and finished with just 20 points in the quarter. Fort Wayne shot .556 and finished with 32 points, pushing the Mad Ants to a 104-98 victory.

Los Angeles shot .414 on the night, compared to .448 for Fort Wayne. The Mad Ants connected on 7-of-22 three-point attempts, while the D-Fenders went just 1-of-14. The Fort Wayne bench contributed 54 points, while Los Angeles added just seven points off the bench.

The D-Fenders play their second and final game of the 2015 D-League Showcase on Sunday, January 18th in Santa Cruz vs. the Delaware 87ers at 3:30pm PT.

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