Sports stats



G League Grand Rapids Drive

Pistons' Darrun Hilliard Scores 31 to Help Grand Rapids Drive Top Toronto

December 5, 2015 - NBA G League (G League)
Grand Rapids Drive News Release


MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Canada - The Grand Rapids Drive got an infusion of NBA talent in the past two days.

Darrun Hilliard scored a game-high 31 points as Grand Rapids had its best offensive output of the season to beat the Toronto 905 128-99 on Saturday afternoon at the Hershey Centre in front of 2,460 fans.

The Detroit Pistons, the parent team of the Drive, assigned guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Hilliard to Grand Rapids before Saturday's game. Both are expected to return to Detroit after the game. NBA veteran Dahntay Jones also played his first game with Grand Rapids. Jones, who played 11 years in the NBA with seven different teams, was traded to the Drive on Dec. 2 from Toronto.

Grand Rapids improves to 3-5. Toronto, the newest NBA D-League franchise, falls to 2-6. They are the affiliate of the Toronto Raptors.

Grand Rapids, who shot 51-percent from the field, had five players score in double figures, led by Hilliard's 31. That was followed by Devin Ebanks (21), Lorenzo Brown (17), Ryan Boatright (16) and Jones (13). Dinwiddie, who played at Colorado, finished with four points and and a team-high seven assists.

Hilliard, who has played in just two games with the Pistons this season, was drafted by Detroit in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft out of Villanova. He was 11-of-22 shooting and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.

The Drive's previous high in points was opening night when they beat Delaware 113-101. The Grand Rapids record for points came last season in a 140-99 win over Delaware on Feb. 27.

Boatright scored on back-to-back floaters in the lane to cap the Drive's first half with a stunning 73-46 lead. The 73 points are the most the Drive has scored in a half this season, topping the 69 they scored at Delaware on Dec. 2. The Drive shot 53 percent from the field and drained 7-of-13 3-pointers in the half.

The Drive got down early, 14-4 to the Raptors, but went on a impressive 16-0 run - which included back-to-back 3-pointers by Hilliard - to take a 34-25 at the end of the first quarter. Ebanks scored 10 points in the quarter.

The Drive expect to have former Michigan State forward Branden Dawson in uniform for their next game on Sunday. Dawson was assigned to Grand Rapids on Friday by the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the league's flexible assignment rule. Dawson has yet to play in an NBA game after being drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Clippers on draft day.

Grand Rapids returns home to play the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Sunday for a 4 p.m. contest. The game is the first River City Sunday of the season, which features special give-aways and $1 hot dogs.

Check out the Grand Rapids Drive Statistics

• Discuss this story on the NBA G League message board...

NBA G League Stories from December 5, 2015


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.

OurSports Central