Des Moines, IA
After trailing by 12 points at the half, the Sioux Falls Skyforce poured in 51 points in the third quarter to run away with a 128-103 victory over the Iowa Wolves on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Ike Nwamu racked up a game-high 28 points for the Skyforce (11-13), which as a team narrowly missed multiple franchise scoring records by dropping 83 points in the second half alone against the Midwest Division-leading Wolves (11-10). Former Big Ten standout Melo Trimble scored a team-high 23 points for Iowa in the loss.
The Force’s 51 third-quarter points and 83 second-half points fell just shy of previous franchise records of 53 points in a quarter, and 84 points in a half which were set over 20 years ago during the 1995 and 1994 seasons respectively.
Sioux Falls scored a season-high 54 points in the paint on the night, led by a breakout performance by rookie Jimmie Taylor, who tallied career-highs in both points (22) and rebounds (12) in the contest. Fellow rookie Rodney Pryor also notched his second double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
For the Wolves, it was Minnesota Timberwolves assignee Justin Patton (19 points) and Amile Jefferson (18 points and 10 rebounds) who carried much of the offensive load throughout the game, and while Timberwolves two-way player Anthony Brown (15 points) had the hot hand early, he was held in check for much of the second half.
NBA veteran Alonzo Gee added 19 points and six rebounds, while Tony Mitchell (25 points) scored 20-or-more points for the 14th time this season to round out the scoring for a Sioux Falls team that dominated in both fast break points (32) and second chance points (24) in the win.
In total, the Skyforce shot a blistering 52.7 percent from the field and a season-best 90.0 percent (18-20) from the foul line in what was a fairly clean and fast paced game from start to finish.
Sioux Falls will look to build on their two-game winning streak as the team returns home to face the Agua Caliente Clippers on Sunday, January 7 at the Sanford Pentagon. The team will then travel to Mississauga, Ontario for two neutral games against the Windy City Bulls and the Raptors 905 as part of the 2018 NBA G League Showcase.
Iowa now has a quick turnaround, making a quick trip south to face the Texas Legends tomorrow night before traveling back north to participate in the NBA G League Showcase next week as well.
Courtesy: Sioux Falls Skyforce
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