Thunderbirds Lose In Thriller
December 27, 2005 - NBA G League (G League)
New Mexico Thunderbirds News Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., December 26, 2005- The Albuquerque Thunderbirds loose in a thriller at Tingley Coliseum to the Ft. Worth Flyers 89-86 Monday night. In a game that had ten lead changes and eight ties, Thunderbirds had a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation when Cody Toppert's three point shot banged off the back iron of the basket sending Ft. Worth back to Texas with a late Christmas present.
Albuquerque went into the locker room at halftime with a 43-40 lead but was not able to hold on as the Flyers came out strong in the third quarter when Ft. Worth put together a 13-5 run to take a 53-48 lead. Albuquerque's big loss on the night came when center Ken Johnson came down hard on his left ankle with 4:00 minutes left in the quarter. Ken did not return to action.
Thunderbirds kept it close as Yuta Tabuse was able to put the T-Birds back on top by one point with 2:00 minutes left in the game with his first three pointer of the game. However it was not enough as the Flyers were able to hit key free throws pulling them ahead by three points with seconds remaining. The lead for the Flyers would hold up and give the Thunderbirds a 7-5 record on the season.
Albuquerque's Bryant Mathews led all scores with 18 points. Other double digit scorers for Albuquerque included TJ Cummings (16 points), and Ken Johnson (11 points).
Leading scorers for the Flyers were Ime Udoka (15 points), Anthony Terrell (14 points), and Kelenna Azubuike (12 points).
"Our guys played hard. Albuquerque played tough, and we were able to make big plays," said Ft. Worth Head Coach Sam Vincent.
Thunderbirds tickets start as low as $9 and can be purchased at abqtbirds.com or at Ticketmaster locations. For premium or group seating call the Thunderbirds office at (505) 265-DUNK.
The NBA Development League includes the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (N.M.), Arkansas RimRockers (Little Rock), Austin Toros (Texas), Fayetteville Patriots (N.C.), Florida Flame (Ft. Myers), Fort Worth Flyers (Texas), Roanoke Dazzle (Va.) and Tulsa 66ers (Okla.).
The D-League offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA's umbrella. Thirty-four (34) players have been called up to the NBA on 50 separate occasions. Eleven (11) former D-League coaches, six athletic trainers, 14 referees and 30 front office executives have also been called up since the start of the league's inaugural season in November 2001.
Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the league also offers fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. The D-League is a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 30 teams and is a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions.
For more information about the Albuquerque Thunderbirds call (505) 265-DUNK or log on to www.abqtbirds.com.
NBA G League Stories from December 27, 2005
- RimRockers Host Mark Martin Night December 30th - Arkansas RimRockers
- NBA D-League Daily Developments - G League
- Thunderbirds Lose In Thriller - New Mexico Thunderbirds
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