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The backend of a two-game homestand didn’t go in favor of the NBA G League Ignite as the team dropped this one by double-digits.
Two nights after a thrilling overtime win, the Ignite dropped one to the Clippers, 111-96, Thursday, Dec. 29 from The Dollar Loan Center.
Now with a 1-1 record on the season, the Ignite prepare to head to the road for the first time officially this season. Prior to the showcase, the team was 2-6 away from The DLC.
Two games with the Birmingham Squadron are at the end of a near three and a half hour for the Ignite. The first matchup is scheduled for New Year’s Day with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
Going cold in the second half ultimately spelled disaster for the Ignite, highlighted by an abysmal third quarter. Ontario held the home team to just 14 points in the third quarter, outscoring them 29-14 in the process. This came after the game was knotted at 52 heading into halftime.
In that third quarter, the Ignite endured a stretch where the team went without a field goal for more than four minutes. That scoreless drought wasn’t unfamiliar for the team on this night as it took them more than two and a half minutes to score its first points of the game.
Ultimately, the Clippers went on a run as large as 21-4 during that third quarter, building a lead as large as 15 points. In the fourth quarter, that lead grew to 20 points.
Things boiled to a breaking point in the fourth quarter when guard London Johnson was given a technical foul for barking at an official.
In terms of defense, Ontario shined in its efforts to shutdown projected No. 2 overall pick Scoot Henderson. The Marietta, Georgia native was held scoreless through the first three-plus quarters of the game, missing his first 10 shots along the way.
Henderson’s first points came at the 8:50-mark of the fourth quarter. He later went on to drain his first three-pointer of the game on his way to 12 points on 4-of-15 from the floor. He was playing in his second game since missing 11 straight due to a concussion and broken nose.
Despite the shooting woes, Henderson showed up in other areas of the game, pulling in eight rebounds and six assists. He helped foster an offense that piled up 22 assists on 36 made field goals.
Forward Leonard Miller led the team in scoring with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. Eleven of his 17 points came in the first half including a three-pointer to tie the game at 40 apiece. That three helped spark a 7-0 Ignite run in the second quarter to take a four-point lead.
Guard Cameron Young poured in 14 points off-the-bench for the Ignite beginning with five in the first quarter. He also was responsible for the floater in the lane that ended the team’s four-plus minute field goal-less drought in the third quarter.