Toros Top 66ers
Published on February 25, 2006 under NBA G League (G League)
Austin Spurs News Release
AUSTIN, TEXAS, Feb. 25, 2006 - With just nine guys on the roster heading into Saturday's game with the Tulsa 66ers, Austin head coach Dennis Johnson knew he would have to get solid production from his bench to pull out a victory. Not only did Johnson get production from his bench, but the spark they provided was more than enough to help propel the Toros to a 98-81 win at the Austin Convention Center.
Andre Emmett and Jamar Smith led the charge off the bench combining for 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field. Austin big man Marcus Fizer led all scorers with 20 points while pulling down a Toro record 17 rebounds.
Tulsa was paced by Will Conroy's 16 points. After netting eight points in the first quarter, 66er guard John Lucas scored just four more points the rest of the way to finish with 12.
"There are some teams in this league that we just don't match up well with and Austin is one of them," said Tulsa head coach Joey Meyer. "I thought we competed and played hard in the first half, but they just did the things down the stretch that they needed to do to get the win."
While the points and rebounds that Emmett and Smith recorded were huge in the Toros' win, the timing of their explosion was the difference.
After both teams struggled through a sloppy first quarter, Smith and Emmett provided some structure to begin the second quarter scoring the Toros' first 11 points to build a five point lead at 25-20. With the Tulsa defense now keying in on Emmett and Smith, the starters picked up their play to help Austin extend a first half lead.
After going 1-of-7 for three points in the first quarter, Austin guard Ezra Williams went 3-of-4 from the field in the second quarter to finish the first half with 11 points. Austin also tightened the defense on the 66ers forcing them to shoot just 35 percent (7-of-20) from the field in the second quarter. Austin closed out the first half on a 19-6 run to take a 46-31 halftime lead.
"We didn't make shots when we needed too," said Lucas, who went 4-for-4 from the field in the first quarter and 2-of-8 the rest of the game. "We didn't play hard enough when we needed too."
"Our defense was huge for us today," said Emmett, who scored 16 points while going 2-of-4 from 3-point range. "We usually have our best performances when we let our defense dictate our offense. Our chemistry is getting much better and all the guys really want to play defense. That's what makes the difference between winning and losing."
Austin pushed the lead to 22 points in the third quarter before Tulsa fought back to cut the deficit to eight points (68-60) to start the fourth. But just as they had done in the second quarter, Emmett and Smith picked up their play on the offensive end of the floor to help the Toros extend the lead back to a comfortable margin.
Tulsa was abysmal from 3-point range going 2-for-20 from the field. Austin was considerably better from 3-point range going 8-of-20 from the floor.
"We're a perimeter team and we depend on that to win games," Meyer said. "If we don't shoot the ball well from outside, then it's going to always be tough for us to come out with a win."
The Toros will host the 66ers again tomorrow beginning at 3 p.m.
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