G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Watson Leads Vipers Over Stampede 132-125

Published on December 15, 2007 under NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release


Despite losing starting guard Aaron Brooks on his call-up back to the Houston Rockets, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers were in triple digits by the end of the third quarter earning a season high in points and had six players in double figures as they stormed past the Idaho Stampede 132-125 Friday night at Dodge Arena. With the win the Vipers have now won four of their last five games and have lost just one home game in six tries.

The Vipers were paced by their starting line-up including dual 30+ point efforts from point guard CJ Watson and forward Steve Novak. Watson had his first double-double of the season with a 34 point, 10 assist effort in the Viper win. Novak chipped in with 32 including six three pointers to go along with his seven rebounds. The Vipers also had twenty point efforts from Gabe Muoneke and Kenny Taylor who had 22 and 20 points respectively.

The Stampede kept pace with the Vipers on offense throughout the first half as the teams were tied at 64-64 at halftime. However, they were outscored 42-30 in the third quarter and fell behind by as many as 17 in the seven point defeat. Forward Lance Allred led seven Stampede players in double-figures with 32 points and added eight rebounds. Portland Trailblazers assignee Taurean Green added a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists.

The Vipers will close out a four game home-stand on Saturday when they take on Southwest Division rival the Colorado 14ers at Dodge Arena. The Vipers will then play eight straight on the round and won't be back at home until January 13th.

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.

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NBA G League Stories from December 15, 2007


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