Maine Outlasts Springfield
February 7, 2013 - NBA G League (G League)
Springfield Armor News Release
Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Armor, presented by MGM Springfield, dropped a 108-94 decision to the Maine Red Claws tonight at the MassMutual Center.
For the fifth straight game, the Armor (9-20) started strong and held the lead at the end of the first quarter. The Red Claws (18-12) and the Armor were tied 6-6 at the 8:50 mark of the first before Springfield ripped off a 10-0 run, including back-to-back threes from Carleton Scott and Paul Carter, to take a 16-6 lead. The Armor led by as many as 10 points twice more in the quarter before a Garrett Stutz put-back layup cut the Red Claws' deficit to 27-20 at the end of the first.
The Armor continued to seize momentum in the second quarter, led by Christian Polk. Polk, who hadn't seen action in the previous two games, scored 10 second-quarter points, including a 20-foot jumper with 4:17 to go in the half to give Springfield a 45-37 edge. From there, Maine wrested control away from the Armor, finishing the half on a 16-4 run to turn an eight-point deficit into a four-point lead (53-49) by intermission.
After trailing by as many as eight points early in the third quarter, the Armor battled back into the game, evening the score at 61-61 on a reverse layup from Scott with 7:25 to go in the period. The Red Claws were unable to extend their lead beyond four points in the frame until the end of the quarter. Following a loose ball foul on the Armor with 0.6 seconds to go, Maine's Xavier Silas inbounded the ball to Micah Downs, who drained a 26-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Red Claws a 79-73 lead through three.
In the fourth, the Red Claws turned a close game (80-77 with 11:03 to go) into a double-digit advantage with a 10-2 run, capped by a Silas layup, to take a 90-79 lead at the 8:30 mark. The Armor were unable to get closer than eight points for the remainder of the quarter as the Red Claws rolled to just their fifth win in 16 all-time visits to Springfield.
Polk led the Armor with 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench, Scott tallied 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with six rebounds in 36 minutes and Kenny Adeleke recorded his first double-double with season-highs in points (10) and rebounds (15, including seven offensive) in 28 minutes in his third straight start. Willie Reed chipped in 14 points (nine in the fourth quarter) in 33 minutes, Ben Uzoh contributed 10 points and seven assists in 35 minutes and Paul Carter tallied 11 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes.
Springfield was without the services of Dennis Horner tonight as Horner deals with concussion symptoms after suffering a head injury in practice yesterday. He's considered day-to-day.
The Armor snared 22 offensive rebounds on the evening, but shot just 38-of-99 for 38.4% from the field.
For the Red Claws, Chris Wright posted his eighth double-double of the season with a game-high 27 points and 15 rebounds (seven offensive) in 38 minutes. Kris Joseph, appearing in his first NBADL game since January 5, scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench, Micah Downs scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 40 minutes, Shelvin Mack, in his return to the Red Claws after the expiration of his second 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, added 14 points and five assists in 25 minutes off the bench and Silas chipped in 10 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes.
The Armor return to action on Saturday evening when they host the Bakersfield Jam at 7:00 pm on the team's annual NBA FIT Night. The Red Claws head home to Portland to host the Jam on Friday evening at 7:00 pm at the Portland Expo.
NBA G League Stories from February 7, 2013
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