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Jalen Green posted a better performance, but Team Ignite still absorbed a 116-111 loss to the Agua Caliente Clippers in the NBA G League on Wednesday at the Walt Disney World Complex in Orlando (Thursday in Manila).
Two days after scoring a season-low eight points in a landslide loss to Delaware, Green scored 20 points on 7 of 17 shots against Agua Caliente.
The Filipino-American point guard also had six rebounds, five assists and two steals in 32 minutes of play.
But Ignite couldn’t get over the hump against the Clippers, and their defensive errors down the stretch doomed them. The young team suffered a second straight loss to fall to 7-6 in the G League season.
“The effort was there (but) I don’t know if the execution of things was better,” said Team Ignite head coach Brian Shaw. “I thought they tried (but) we were really stuck in the mud for the whole game.”
“When we finally got back into the game, we shot ourselves in the foot trying to make a home run pass or some really inopportune turnovers,” he lamented.
Ignite was within two points, 110-108, with 55 seconds to go, thanks to a 3 by Green.
After a timeout, Agua Caliente’s Amir Coffey was fouled by 19-year-old Green and scored both free throws. Green missed a 3-pointer at the other end and was forced to foul Malik Fitts, who also did his charity work, keeping Ignite at bay.
With the loss, Ignite is now tied with the Rio Grand Valley Vipers for eighth and last place in the playoffs.
The two teams will meet tomorrow in a game with strong implications for the playoff scene.
