Springfield Rallies for Overtime Victory
March 14, 2013 - NBA G League (G League)
Springfield Armor News Release
Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Armor, presented by MGM Springfield, needed overtime to secure a 92-89 victory over the Texas Legends tonight at the MassMutual Center. The win was the fourth straight home victory for the Armor.
The Armor (15-24) were sluggish in the early going tonight and reigning NBA D-League MVP Justin Dentmon took advantage. Dentmon connected on 7-of-9 shots for 18 of his game-high 35 points in the first quarter, but the rest of the Legends (18-23) combined to shoot 3-of-21 and Texas failed to capitalize on Springfield's early struggles. The Armor buried 7-of-19 shots and committed 10 turnovers in the period, but the deficit was just seven points, 26-19, at the end of the first.
The second quarter proved to be a struggle for both teams. The Legends led by as many as 10 points in the quarter (34-24), but the sloppy play continued on both sides with the two teams combining for 14 turnovers (seven apiece) in the period. The Armor managed to trim the 10-point deficit down to six points twice, including on the final possession of the half on a Justin Johnson three-pointer, to head into intermission trailing 42-36. The 36 points were a first half-low for Springfield this season.
In the third quarter, Ben Uzoh scored six of the Armor's first eight points to cut the deficit to two points (46-44), prompting a Texas timeout. The Armor tied the game moments later on a pair of Kris Joseph free throws, but that's as close as Springfield would come to taking its first lead of the evening as Texas responded with a 7-1 run to push the Legends' lead back to six points (55-49) with 5:42 to go in the third. The Armor would get as close as one (58-57) with 1:26 to go in the period, but a George Odufuwa tip-in with just under a minute to play in the quarter gave Texas a 60-57 advantage heading into the fourth.
In the fourth, Springfield trailed 77-70 with 3:57 to go before a Willie Reed dunk sparked a 7-0 run to tie the game at 77-77. After the two teams traded baskets, the Armor seized their first lead of the game (83-82) with just 1:05 to go in the fourth on a Reed tip-in. Dentmon followed with a pair of free throws to put the Legends back up by one, but Joseph responded by sinking 1-of-2 free throws with 25.8 seconds to go to tie the game at 84-84. After a Texas shot clock violation and an Armor turnover, the game headed to overtime.
In the extra period, the Armor's Justin Johnson and the Legends' Ely did battle. After Ely hit 1-of-2 free throws for Texas, Johnson responded by knocking down a three-pointer to give the Armor an 87-85 lead. An Ely turnaround jumper evened the game up at 87-87, but Johnson responded with his second straight three-pointer to give Springfield the lead again. Ely followed with a hook shot to trim the Legends' deficit to one (90-89) with 49.4 seconds left, but the Armor stood tall defensively and forced Dentmon into two missed shots to preserve the lead. Johnson added a late floater for good measure to give the Armor the 92-89 victory.
Johnson scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-11 from the field, including a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc, in 25 minutes off the Armor bench tonight. Reed recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 20 points on 10-of-12 from the field, 15 rebounds (10 in the second half and overtime) and five blocks in 37 minutes, Joseph pitched in 18 points (8-of-9 from the foul line) in 35 minutes and Uzoh added 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting with seven assists in 33 minutes.
The Armor committed a season-high 28 turnovers (17 in the first half), but held Texas to an opponent-season-low 35.4% shooting (34-of-96) tonight. The Armor's bench also outscored the Legends' bench 37-14.
In addition to Dentmon's 35 points in 41 minutes, Texas' Ely tallied 17 points in 40 minutes, Sean Singletary contributed 12 points and five steals in 39 minutes and Dwayne Jones notched a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds in 38 minutes.
The Armor return to action tomorrow night when they host the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at 7:00 pm at the MassMutual Center.
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