Tulsa's Comeback Falls Short In Final Seconds
March 8, 2014 - NBA G League (G League)
Tulsa 66ers News Release
TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa 66ers fell to the Texas Legends, 98-96, in the final seconds on Saturday night despite fighting back from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
The 66ers (18-22) trailed 84-68 with nine minutes remaining in the fourth before going on a 16-4 run to pull within four with four minutes on the clock. Texas (20-22) built its lead back to seven going into the final minute before a Mustafa Shakur layup made it 96-91 with 46 seconds left.
Tulsa's defense forced the Legends to throw the ball out of bounds on their next possession, leading to a Mario Little three-pointer on the other end. The 66ers defense forced another Texas turnover, this time a steal by Little, to regain possession and set up a Shakur jumper to tie the game at 96 with 7.9 seconds remaining.
As Texas inbounded the ball in the frontcourt, Little poked the ball away from James Nunnally at the top of the arc. Nunnally recovered the ball as it began to roll away and hit the game-winning 18-foot jumper with 2.6 seconds on the clock.
The 66ers inbounded it in to Rodney Bartholomew who kicked it out to Scoop Jardine for a long three that hit the iron as the buzzer sounded.
"Throughout the whole game we were taking good shots, but unfortunately we were missing a lot of them," said 66ers Head Coach Darko Rajakovic. "Finally in the fourth quarter we started making shots, which helped us defensively and motivated our guys to get back in the game and try to win it. I'm really proud of our guys for fighting for 48 minutes and staying in the game. In the end, one shot decided the winner. We played good defense on that last possession, but the dice rolled on their side with that loose ball."
Shakur led the 66ers with 22 points, nine rebounds, three assists and six steals and Little scored 22 to go with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Maurice Sutton posted his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 boards.
After surrendering 28 fast break points through the first three quarters, Tulsa allowed zero Texas points in transition during the final quarter. On offense, the 66ers surrendered zero fourth-quarter turnovers.
Tulsa outrebounded Texas 53-43 and forced 23 Legends turnovers.
Texas was led by Fab Melo with 22 points and eight rebounds.
Tulsa is back in action on Tuesday morning when it hosts its second Thunder Field Trip Day at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The 66ers and Los Angeles D-Fenders will face off at 11 a.m. in front of thousands of students from across Oklahoma. For ticket information, visit Tulsa66ers.com.
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