Sports stats



G League Salt Lake City Stars

Stars Fend off Herd to Earn Fifth Consecutive Victory

March 12, 2024 - NBA G League (G League)
Salt Lake City Stars News Release


SALT LAKE CITY - The Salt Lake City Stars (14-13) the official NBA G League Affiliate of the Utah Jazz, picked up their fifth consecutive win, defeating the Wisconsin Herd (13-14) (Milwaukee Bucks Affiliate) 139-129, at Delta Center Tuesday morning.

The win moved the Stars over .500 for the first time in the regular season. Stars guard Isaiah Thomas led the team with 34 points for his 3rd consecutive 30-point outing, while adding seven rebounds and five assists. Utah Jazz assignment player Kenneth Lofton Jr., impressed with 26 points, and seven rebounds in over 30 minutes of play, in his Salt Lake City debut. The newly named G League Player of the Week, Jason Preston, posted 19 points, eight rebounds, and a season-high 18 assists. Meanwhile, Stars forward Keshawn Justice scored 25 points, hitting seven three-pointers in nearly 40 minutes of action.

The Stars ambushed the Herd in the first quarter, knocking down 11 triples on their way to a 45-point opening period. Salt Lake City had three players score in double-figures, on their way to a .571 shooting percentage, and a 45-23 advantage. The second period Salt Lake City pushed their advantage over Wisconsin to 31, before taking an 81-53 lead to the locker room.

The Stars offense came back down to Earth in the third quarter as a stingy Herd defense held them to .296 in the quarter. However, Salt Lake City still scored 32 points in the frame, and thanks to 11 from Justice, led 113-95 after three. The fourth quarter was closing time for the Stars, as Taevion Kinsey had nine points, and Thomas added eight, to help the Stars hold off a late Herd rally, and win 139-129.

Milwaukee two-way guard TyTy Washington Jr. led the Herd with 34 points to go with seven assists, scoring 29 of his 34 in the second half. Milwaukee two-way guard Ryan Rollins recorded 24 points, and six rebounds, on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting. Meanwhile guard Malachi Smith contributed 23 points, on a perfect 5-5 from three off the bench.

The Stars return to action on Saturday, March 16 as they look to expand their streak to six as they visit the Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets affiliate) at Van Andel arena. The contest tips off at 10:00 A.M. MT and will be broadcast LIVE on nbagleague.com.

Check out the Salt Lake City Stars Statistics

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

NBA G League Stories from March 12, 2024


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