Ivica Zubac stays "in the game" by not fouling; pulled late due to Suns' Surge
- Ivica Zubac (33) Seems to have his hands UP on OFFENSE a lot
While the Lakers took on the Warriors in Oakland (11-23-16), the D-Fenders had a battle on their home court. The game appeared to be in cruise control as the Lakers NBA D-League squad was up by 31 with 1:48 in the second quarter. A Sun run, including several buckets by Elijah Millsap, made it 73-51 at halftime. Millsap, brother of Paul, did everything he could against his former club. He ended the contest with 35 pts, 4 REB, 5 Assists, 4 steals in 51 minutes.
Askia (not related to Devin) Booker also added 35 points and 10 assists. Booker and Millsap were a combined 27-52 FG and 6-17 3 pt. Those 17 Attempts were a big reason why the NAZ, Northern Arizona, Suns ended with 33 attempts from behind-the-arc. The LA Coaches were surprised at this considering that NAZ is second-lowest in the league with 20 attempts per contest.
Coach Tyrone Ellis challenged his team in the first half,
"At what point will we man up and stop pointing fingers, stop complaining to the refs, and stop feeling sorry for ourselves." Source: Brian Bergner
You could see the energy transfer and build with the Suns. With each timeout they became louder, more focused and more determined.
Enjoying the @DFenders game. #Dfenders with a 22 point halftime lead. #Lakers developing future. #elsegundo pic.twitter.com/q1DEUYK5hT— Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) November 24, 2016
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles D-Fenders let another team come back on them. Maybe Jeanie made them nervous?
IN the fourth quarter, Zubac re-enters the game at the 5:54 mark and the team is up 106-97. The SUNS made a surge at 4:12 with a layup making the score 102-108 LA. Ivica Zubac is taken out of the game by Coach Karl at 2:49 after witnessing porous defense in the key and around-the-rim which allowed the Suns to get 8 straight points in the paint. Zubac leaves the game with the score 110-108.
- Ivica (33) seems to take Center Stage; Meanwhile Millsapp (7) had 35 points and D-Fender newcomer David Nwaba (11) bringing energy each game had 19 points, 11 REB and 2 blocks
SIDE NOTES:
Travis Wear sat out due to concussion from previous game as was not available
David Foster who "DNP" in Zubac's debut played 5 minutes
Distribution of Wealth: 8 of the 9 D-Fenders that played, scored in double figures with the Team's Leading Scorer, Vander Blue, dropping in 26.
Zublock Nation? Roscoe Smith and David Nwaba each had two blocks to lead the team. Zubac had 1.
- D-Fenders WIN at home in Double OT. Start Season 4-1
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