D-Fenders Win Impressively at Home
March 7, 2015 - NBA G League (G League)
Los Angeles D-Fenders News Release
EL SEGUNDO - All five starters finished in double-figures for the D-Fenders, as they beat the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 140-121 tonight in El Segundo.
Los Angeles (12-27) was led by Vander Blue, who finished with 36 points (16-27), eight assists and six rebounds. Jabari Brown (25 points, five rebounds, four assists) and Jamaal Franklin (23 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) both eclipsed the 20-point mark, while Josiah Turner (18 points, nine assists), Eloy Vargas (14 points, nine rebounds) and Roscoe Smith (10 points, 15 rebounds) all scored in double-digits for the D-Fenders.
Jaron Johnson paced the Vipers (21-17) with 25 points and seven rebounds. Jarvis Threatt also eclipsed the 20-point plateau with 21 points and four rebounds, while Tyrone White (15 points), Akil Mitchell (15 points, 13 rebounds), Nick Johnson (13 points, seven rebounds) and Tony Bishop (12 points, nine rebounds) all finished in double-figures for Rio Grande Valley.
The D-Fenders came out on fire, outscoring the Vipers 48-24 in the first quarter. Blue had 13 in the first, while Turner added 10 for Los Angeles. Rio Grande Valley turned it around in the second, outscoring L.A. 37-35. Geron Johnson paced the Vipers with 13 points in the second quarter, while Franklin had 10 for the D-Fenders. At the half, L.A. maintained an 83-61 lead behind 20 points from Blue and 19 from Franklin.
A closer contest was in store for the second half, with the D-Fenders outscoring the Vipers 34-29 in the third quarter behind 11 points from Brown. Rio Grande Valley would go on to outscore the D-Fenders 31-23 in the fourth quarter, but the game was well in-hand as Los Angeles held on to win 140-121.
The D-Fenders led this one wire-to-wire and shot .504 on the night, while Rio Grande Valley finished at .460. The D-Fenders outrebounded the Vipers 61-49, while also handing out more assists (28-22). The Vipers turned the ball over 22 times, compared to just 15 for the D-Fenders.
The D-Fenders are in Ontario tomorrow to host the Texas Legends at 7:00pm PT.
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