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Greensboro Swarm

Greensboro Swarm's Full-Throttle Offense Downs Motor City

February 23, 2024 - NBA G League (G League)
Greensboro Swarm News Release


(GREENSBORO, N.C.) - The Greensboro Swarm, the NBA G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, fired on all fronts to drive by the Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons affiliate) in 115-98 victory on YMCA Night at the Novant Health Fieldhouse Friday evening. With its fourth win in the past five contests, Greensboro improves to 8-12 on the season while Motor City slips to 11-10.

Two-Way guard Amari Bailey ignited the Swarm's offense early as he tallied the team's first five points, setting the tone for Greensboro in the opening quarter. Nick Smith Jr., on assignment from the Hornets, further advanced the Swarm's dominance, propelling the lead to 10 points at 18-8. Notably, Motor City's Nathan Knight emerged as the leading scorer of the first, amassing 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Knight finished the contest with the game's only double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

The Swarm surged ahead in the second quarter behind a 17-9 run to establish a 44-30 lead over the Cruise. Greensboro led by as many as 23 points in the period, the largest lead by either team in the first half. A buzzer-beating floater from Marcus Garrett saw the Swarm command a 20-point lead, 64-44, at the end of the half. Bailey led all scorers with 14 points and seven assists at the break. Smith Jr. trailed closes with 12 points, while Kent Bazemore provided a valuable 10 points off the bench in the first half.

The Swarm maintained its lead throughout the third quarter extending the advantage to 27 points, leading 73-46 early in the second half. Despite Motor City's efforts to narrow the deficit, Greensboro remained in control and possessed a formidable 92-69 lead entering the final period.

The Swarm reached the century mark with six minutes remaining in the contest and fended off Motor City for the remainder of the evening. Not only did Greensboro dominate on the offensive side of the floor, the team forced a total of 19 turnovers, with 10 turnovers in the third quarter alone.

Five Swarm players finished the contest in double-figures. Smith Jr. matched his season-high of 23 points, his third game this year with 20-plus points. Bailey racked up 18 points, nine assists and was 50-percent from the field in 33 minutes. Bazemore finished the night with 13 points. Jaylen Sims and Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. had 12 points each, respectively. In his first game with the Swarm in two months, Two-Way center Nathan Mensah picked 11 points in the victory.

Motor City was fueled by its starting lineup, which contributed all but 20 points of the team's total. Led by Knight, all five Cruise starters finished in double digits: Buddy Boeheim (18 points), Zavier Simpson (14 points and nine assists), Jared Rhoden (13 points) and Stanley Umude (10 points).

In addition to the victory, the Swarm hosted their annual YMCA Theme Night. The night featured a special presentation from the Greensboro Swarm and Charlotte Hornets Foundation as they awarded the YMCA of Greensboro with a 10,000 grant for their YMCA Teen Achiever's Program.

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NBA G League Stories from February 23, 2024


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