Motor City Completes Comeback over South Bay
March 11, 2025 - NBA G League (G League)
Motor City Cruise News Release
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - To conclude their final game of the West Coast trip, the Motor City Cruise (14-11) rallied from a 13-point deficit at halftime (57-44) to defeat the South Bay Lakers (10-16), 110-97. With eight wins in the last ten games, Motor City holds the number six seed in the Eastern Conference standings with nine games remaining in their regular season (two games behind the top seed).
The Cruise shot just 25.0% from beyond the arc in the first half with giving the Lakers 12 second chance points after scoring just two. Malik Hall opened the second half with a personal 6-0 run before the Lakers struck back, building their lead back up to 12 points (66-54). With the help of a 13-0 run with 5:05 to go in the third, Motor City took their first lead since the first half (72-70). Daniss Jenkins led the Cruise to pull away in the fourth, scoring 14 points in the quarter alone, shooting 6-8 from the floor. Daniss Jenkins finished with 19 points after his clutch fourth quarter performance.
With the conclusion of Motor City's West Coast trip, Tolu Smith set a franchise record of most offensive rebounds in a full season (118). He earned his 19 th double-double of the year with 19 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Jordan Wright came off the bench to score a career high of 18 points with six field goals made. The Southfield, Mich., native John Ukomadu also dropped 18 off the bench, shooting 7-14 from the floor and knocking down four three-point field goals. As a team, Motor City outscored South Bay in the paint, 70-36. Additionally, the Cruise put up 21 fast break points, leaving South Bay with only five.
The former Detroit Pistons two-way forward Cole Swider was the leading scorer for South Bay, scoring 24 points after shooting 7-11 from the floor (6-9 3PT). Quincy Olivari and Bronny James each scored 16 points in South Bay's defeat. Additionally, Olivari had five steals in the contest. Grayson Murphy contributed to the defense with three steals of his own.
The Motor City Cruise will return to Wayne State Fieldhouse (Detroit, Mich.) and host its final Education Day of the season on Wednesday, March 12 at 11 a.m. ET. The game can be streamed live through The PREP (https://theprepsports.com/) or ESPN+. Tickets for all Cruise home games can be purchased at https://detroit.gleague.nba.com/ or by calling 313-PISTONS.
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