The Austin Spurs (21-9) recovered from their slow first half start and rallied to defeat the Grand Rapids Drive, 98-93, on Saturday night at the Cedar Park Center.
With the win, the Spurs maintain their spot atop the Southwest Division standings, while stretching their win streak to five straight games. The win was also the second over the Drive in as many nights, as the Spurs finish up a baseball-esque three game series versus Grand Rapids, with the third game coming up on Monday night in Michigan.
D-League All-Star Bryce Cotton led all scores with 27 points, while Kyle Anderson continued his double-double rampage with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson also added five assists. It was a total team effort for the Spurs with five players in double figures.
It was a great comeback win for the Spurs after trailing for most of the first half. Grand Rapids started the game shooting 58% from the field, thanks in large part to controlling the interior with 16 points in the paint in the first quarter. The Drive would extend that lead to 15 before halftime by dominating the glass, outrebounding the Spurs 29-17 in the first half.
The Drive’s halftime lead would be short lived entering the third quarter, as the Spurs would pick up their intensity and used their defense to hold the Drive to 11 third quarter points.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Kyle Anderson said after the game. “They hit some tough shots in the first half that you could tell they weren’t going to make in the second half. Credit to them, they played well, but I think our defense disturbed them a little bit and we were able to stop them from scoring a little bit more.”
The Spurs 21-9 record keeps them with the best record in the D-League heading into the All-Star break, with just one more game to be played on Monday. Tipoff from the DeltaPlex Arena is at 7 p.m. ET and you can catch the game via YouTube on DLeague.com’s website.
