G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Vipers Fall to LA D-Fenders

November 29, 2007 - NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release


The Rio Grande Valley Vipers tasted defeat for the first time in their brief NBA D-League history on Thursday night falling to the LA D-Fenders at the Staples Center 123-11. The loss leaves division rival Tulsa as the only unbeaten left in the NBA D-League.

The Vipers and D-Fenders fought in a back and forth affair that was tied at 58 at the half. However, a blistering fourth quarter start by the D-Fenders put the deficit in double digits for the Vipers who were never able to chip away after trailing by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter.

CJ Watson's 22 points, seven rebounds and nine assists led the Vipers offensively. Watson left the game in the fourth quarter after colliding head on with a D-Fenders player. Houston Rockets assignee Steve Novak added 21 points for his highest scoring output ever in a D-League game. Gabe Muonoke and Jarred Merrill chipped in with 18 and 17 points respectively.

"We played hard tonight, the effort was there, we just didn't make the shots we needed to and they did," Vipers Head Coach Bob Hoffman said. "We just need to get home and prepare for another tough game with Sioux Falls on Saturday."

The D-Fenders had a strong offensive game from just about everyone on their roster. Sean Banks led seven D-Fender players in double figures with his 28 points. Lakers assignee Coby Karl and Brian Chase each added 19 in the D-Fender win.

The Vipers will play their third game in four days when the return to the Dodge Arena on Saturday with a match-up with the Sioux Falls Sky Force.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an expansion team in the NBA Development League (NBA D-League). The D-League is the official minor league of the National Basketball Association. Now in its seventh season, the D-league will have 14 teams that will play a 50 game schedule. The teams include Albuquerque Thunderbirds (NM), Anaheim Arsenal (CA), Austin Toros (TX), Bakersfield Jam (CA), Colorado 14ers (Broomfield), Dakota Wizards (Bismarck, ND), Fort Wayne Mad Ants (IN), Idaho Stampede (Boise), Iowa Energy (Des Moines), Los Angeles D- Fenders (CA), Sioux Falls Skyforce (SD) and Tulsa 66ers (OK) and Utah Flash (Orem). The Vipers NBA affiliates are the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Hornets.

Check out the Rio Grande Valley Vipers Statistics



NBA G League Stories from November 29, 2007


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