On Thursday night at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, the Los Angeles D-Fenders fell to the Santa Cruz Warriors 140-127 in Game 1 of the NBA D-League Quarterfinals.
The D-Fenders were off to a hot start beginning the game with a 13-2 run. Although they seemed unstoppable based off the first three minutes of play, the game shifted once the Warriors stepped it up and closed the deficit to six heading into the second quarter. Los Angeles had another big 12-2 run at the beginning of the second and ended up forcing nine turnovers. The D-Fenders were up 71-59 going into halftime.
In the third quarter, the D-Fenders defense began to wither away allowing Santa Cruz to shoot 57.7 from the field. With this offensive momentum, the Warriors gained their first lead of the game in the final seconds of the third. Although the fourth quarter began highly competitive, the D-Fenders allowed Santa Cruz to go on a 12-4 run in the final minutes of the game to give them the 140-127 advantage over Los Angeles.
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The top performer in Thursday’s game was Terrence Williams with 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Other top contributors included C.J. Williams with 19 points, Brandon Costner with 18 points and Josiah Turner with 15 points.
The D-Fenders have a chance to force a game three on Saturday, April 12th as they look for the win at home.
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