Vipers' Late Comeback Falls Short
February 23, 2024 - NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (12-7), the NBA G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, were defeated 117-114 by the Iowa Wolves (6-15) on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Lance Stephenson of the Iowa Wolves got the ball rolling in the opening quarter as he catapulted the Wolves to the top by scoring 10 out of the 15 points on the board which set the score at 9-15. With 7:20 to go Ray Spalding led the Vipers to its first lead of the night (16-15) after scoring half of the points for RGV. For two minutes there was no clear leader, but in the final five minutes of the quarter the Vipers took a hold of the quarter and walked off with a 30-26 advantage.
RGV remained on top for the first four minutes of the second quarter, but Iowa turned things around. Both teams battled it out for the lead but neither one fully pulled away until the clock struck 3:16 which was when the Wolves began its 11-0 run. At the half the home team had a 59-49 edge over the visiting team.
Iowa was in the lead the entire second half, but the Vipers attempted to take over the lead in the final minutes of the game. Despite the Vipers efforts, the team fell short of a victory as the game concluded with a score of 117-114.
Houston Rockets Two-Way Nate Hinton led all scorers with 24 points followed by Jarrett Culver with 20 points and Houston Rockets Two-Way Jermaine Samuels Jr. with 19 points. Also scoring in the double digits were Spalding with 16 points and Darius Days with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wolves were led by Minnesota Timberwolves assignee Wendell Moore Jr. with 23 points. Tyrese Martin had 21 points. Both Trevor Keels and Stephenson finished with 18 points each.
On Wednesday, Feb. 28 the Vipers will travel to California to take on the Stockton Kings at Adventist Health Arena. Tip-off is arranged for 1:00 p.m. CST and can be viewed on ESPN+. For more information visit www.rgvipers.com.
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