Vipers Down Jam, 109-100
November 21, 2007 - NBA G League (G League)
Bakersfield Jam News Release
(Bakersfield, Calif., November 20, 2007) - The Rio Grande Valley Vipers defeated the Bakersfield Jam, 109-100 in a pre-season game in front of 3,136 fans on Tuesday evening. Despite being outrebounded 47-31, the Vipers took advantage of 28 Bakersfield turnovers en route to the win.
The Vipers started fast, jumping out to a 29-26 lead after the first quarter and took a 54-48 lead into the break. The contest saw Rio Grande Valley hold the lead in a close game most of the way before pulling away at the end for the nine-point win.
Point guard CJ Watson posted a team-high 25 points and added 11 assists to lead the Vipers. Gabe Muoneke added 20 points and Steve Novak chipped in 18. The Jam were led by center Roderick Riley's 17 points and 12 boards and Brandon Bowman's 23 points and nine rebounds. Kosta Perovic', on assignment to the Jam from the Golden State Warriors, posted 10 points in his Jam debut.
Despite the loss, Jam head coach Jim Harrick felt the game provided great preparation for the Jam's upcoming regular season opener. "We didn't have energy tonight, but this game will definitely help us," said Harrick. We missed a lot of layups, but that's what the pre-season is for we have learned a lot about our team tonight."
The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Now in its seventh season the D-League's goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 14 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. In addition, the D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 16 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats. The D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives of the NBA and its teams, provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.
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