D-Fenders back from All-Stars game, split wins
The D-Fenders top three players earned NBA D-League honors, then lost their first game out, but tonight was a different story.
Vander Blue, Justin Harper and Josh Magette, the D-Fenders top three players, represented well in the NBA All-Star game. Although Coby Karl’s West lost, it was the D-fenders player who made a run at the end of the game, their signature style of play. They keep you on the edge of your seat at all times.
The D-Fenders lost their first game out of the NBA All-Star break to the Texas Legends (135-120), must have had to recuperate from all the partying in New Orléans. They did stage a comeback at the end of the game, in their usual form, it just didn’t pan out.
That brings us to this game against the Bulls. The D-Fenders couldn’t hit a three to save their lives in the first quarter. It took Julian Jacobs off the bench to stop the drought. The notable star on the Bulls, Will Bynum out of Georgia Tech, was their top scorer with seven.
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The player who had the best feel for his shot tonight was David Nwaba scoring 12 points, Magette racked up seven assists, and on the other side of the ball, Travis Wear grabbed seven rebounds just in the first half.
The second have was pretty even throughout, the D-Fenders we’re behind playing in catch-up mode. Julian Jacobs acrobatics kept his team in the race, with an exciting dunk and active hands on defense. The D-Fenders outscored the Bulls 37-20 including Justin Harper’s 11 points.
The Bulls were like a fly you cannot get rid of, they wanted this win, with their 14-18 record, a win against the 27-9 D-Fenders would put a few feathers in their caps. But that wasn’t meant to be, Los Angeles eked out a win, 115-111, to increase their record to 28-9.
In the end, The D-Fenders had six players in double digits: Vander Blue (27), Justin Harper (20), David Nwaba (20), DuJuan Blair (12), Julian Jacobs (12), and Josh Maggette (10, nine assists).
By far the most entertaining part of the game was at the end when the Bulls head coach Nate Loenser, after the referee’s called a few fouls against his team, started yelling at the players on the D-Fenders. It went something like, ‘Blue, yeah you, of course, you gave Blue a shot, Nwaba too, gave them the game!’ Yeah, kind of embarrassing, especially when the two made their shots, and gave the coach a ‘Who me? What are you talking about?’ look.
The Lake Show Life caught up with Justin, David, Julian and Coach Karl after the game to talk about the All-Star break, the excellent win and more.
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Game No. 2 of the D-Fenders weekend on Sunday didn’t fall in their favor. It was another nail-biter against the Northern Arizona Suns. Los Angeles lost this battle 117-113. David Nwaba, who scored a team-high 23 points, tried to spark a D-Fenders comeback, scoring six consecutive points bringing his team to only be down by one point, 112-111. Ensuing free-throws by the Suns put the game in the fridge. LA returns to Prescott, Arizona March 3rd for revenge.