Sioux Falls Earns 107-106 Victory over Grand Rapids
April 2, 2016 - NBA G League (G League)
Sioux Falls Skyforce News Release
The Sioux Falls Skyforce (40-10) outlasted the Grand Rapids Drive (21-29) in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, earning a 107-106 victory in each teams' last game of the regular season. The victory marks the 40th win of the season for the Skyforce, adding to their already record breaking total.
A back-and-forth first quarter of play saw Sioux Falls take a one point lead into the second period. However, the Drive made a second quarter run, leading by as many as 11 points on their way to a 54-47 halftime lead.
After a well-fought second half of basketball, Grand Rapids stormed back from a ten-point deficit in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Ralston Turner (15 points, 5/6 from three-point range) made a three-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to pull the Drive to within one point. Bruce Massey (12 points, 10 assists, five rebounds) proceeded to steal the inbound pass, but a baseline floater missed as time expired, resulting in a Skyforce victory.
Eight players scored in double figures for Grand Rapids, including Kammeon Holsey who scored a team-high 19 points. Dahntay Jones, one game removed from scoring a Grand Rapids franchise-record 45 points against Raptors 905, tallied 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the loss.
Rodney McGruder (16 points) scored in double figures for the 40th time this season while DeAndre Liggins stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the Sioux Falls win. Briante Weber (15 points, seven steals, six rebounds, four assists) and Toure' Murry (13 points, four assists) combined to score 28 points off the bench for the Skyforce and played key roles in fending off the Drive down the stretch.
Weber recorded a new NBA Development League career-high seven steals in the game and finished the season having recorded at least one steal in all but one of his games played for Sioux Falls. He tallied 48 steals over his final 19 games of the season for an average of 2.53 steals per game.
The Skyforce will now look ahead to the first game of the 2016 NBA D-League playoffs as they travel to White Plains, New York to take on the Westchester Knicks (28-22) on Tuesday, April 5. Westchester will serve as a tough first-round opponent, as the Knicks have won three of their four games against Sioux Falls this season.
NBA G League Stories from April 2, 2016
- Warriors Drop Regular Season Finale - Santa Cruz Warriors
- Idaho Tops Santa Cruz - Idaho Stampede
- Grand Rapids Nearly Beats D-League's Best Team - Grand Rapids Drive
- Sioux Falls Earns 107-106 Victory over Grand Rapids - Sioux Falls Skyforce
- RGV Vipers Win Regular-Season Finale 128-121 over Los Angeles - Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Austin Secures Division Championship with Win against Texas 104-84 - Austin Spurs
- Iowa Energy Finish Season with Win - Iowa Wolves
- Westchester Knicks End Regular Season with Loss - Westchester Knicks
- Red Claws Finish Regular Season with Win over Knicks - Maine Celtics
- Drive Make Final Roster Moves - Grand Rapids Drive
- Stampede Acquire Kevin Parrom - Idaho Stampede
- Jam Dropped by Bighorns - Bakersfield Jam
- The Bighorns Spread the Jam Thin - Reno Bighorns
- Douglas-Roberts Tabs Triple-Double in Win - Texas Legends
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