Lightning One Win Away from Championship
May 29, 2022 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
London Lightning News Release
(LONDON, ON) - In what was one of the most entertaining and nail-biting games of the year, the London Lightning walk away with the 115-110 overtime win over the KW Titans and now are one win away from their franchise's fifth National Basketball League of Canada Championship.
Unlike the previous game, the Lightning controlled most of the first and second time frames from the opening tip. Jordan Burns was able to shake off his poor performance Friday evening and led the Bolts with 8 points on 2-3 shooting from downtown in the first 12 minutes of action. London would outscore the Titans 25-21 and 28-24 in the first half and headed into the locker room with a respectable 53-45 lead.
Just as the game was starting to look out of hand, the KW Titans were able to turn things around and turn their 12-point deficit into a lead as they outscored the home town Bolts, 36-25 in the third quarter behind an impressive 17 points from MVP Joel Kindred. The Titan's lead would reach as many as six points throughout the fourth with both teams tying the score 10 times or exchanging the lead 12 times. Terry Thomas and Tyrrel Tate would exchange buckets in the final 20 seconds of the game before a Chris Jones three at he buzzer was off mark and sent the game into overtime.
London got off to a quick start in overtime with Jermaine Haley Jr scoring back-to-back buckets to put the Lightning up early. Fortunately for Bolts fans, that lead would be permanent as London would outscore KW 12-7 in extra time.
Terry Thomas was named Player of the Game after pouring in a team-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Both Chris Jones (17 points, 10 assists) and Cam Forte (16 points, 11 rebounds) added double-doubles on the night while Jordan Burns had his best game of the series with 18 points on 4-7 shooting from down town. Canadian Jermaine Haley Jr came of clutch for the Lightning in big moments and added 21 points in the start.
Reigning MVP Joel Kindred shook off a slow start to torch the Bolts in the second half on his way to a game-high 38 points and 10 rebounds. Youtuber, Jesse Jones, had another solid game scoring 25 points while leading the game with 12 rebounds. Tyrrel Tate added 17 points in the start while Jabari Craig added 16 off the bench.
Make sure to stay up to date with team news by following the team on social media or through the team website at www.lightningbasketball.ca.
• Discuss this story on the National Basketball League of Canada message board...
National Basketball League of Canada Stories from May 29, 2022
- Lightning One Win Away from Championship - London Lightning
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.
