Two Atlanta Hawks, Taurean Prince and Mike Scott, played for the Long Island Nets on assignment Monday afternoon. Both of them were bright spots in L.I.’s loss to the Delaware 87ers, 109-106.
The Long Island Nets kicked off the new year back at home against the Delaware 87ers. Despite a strong showing by a few players, L.I. fell short, 109-106.
L.I. trailed throughout most of the first half. Despite scoring the first four points of the game, things would soon get ugly for the Nets. They never led again in the first, and Delaware closed the first period on a 7-0 run and held a 31-18 advantage at the end of the first period.
The second quarter followed much of the same story, as L.I. fell into an even deeper hole, going down by as much as 17. However, in the final two minutes, the Nets were able to close in on the gap, sparked by Yogi Ferrell, who stole the ball three times and scored nine points during this time. Taurean Prince also scored seven points in the second quarter. At halftime, L.I. only trailed by three, 55-58.
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The Nets continued building on this momentum in the third quarter, outscoring the 87ers 26-19 in the period. L.I. took the lead, 65-63, with 6:35 remaining in the period, the first time they led since the opening minutes of the first quarter. They went up by as much as 12, but their lead was cut to four, 81-77, at the end of the third.
Unfortunately, L.I. couldn’t pull away in the fourth quarter. The Nets were ice cold to begin the final period, as the 87ers scored the first eight points of the quarter. It was a tight ballgame for most of the fourth, but L.I. crumbled in the final minutes. With 1:05 remaining, Delaware went up by five, 106-101.
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Taurean Prince answered back with a layup to bring the game within three points, but that was the second-to-last basket made by L.I. in the game, and the rest of the final minute was filled with free throws for the 87ers. Prince scored 11 of L.I.’s 25 fourth quarter points and finished with a game-high 27 points. He also notched a double-double, grabbing 14 rebounds to go with his production.
Prince’s fellow Hawks teammate, Mike Scott, added 18 points and seven rebounds. Yogi Ferrell also tallied 18 points and six assists.
Delaware was led by Brandon Triche‘s 20 points. Three other 87ers, David Laury III, James Webb III, and Shawn Long had double-doubles.
L.I. continues their three-game home stand Wednesday against the Erie Bayhawks. Delaware faces the Maine Red Claws back at home on Wednesday.
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Nets Watch:
- Chris McCullough finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, but struggled on 3-of-12 shooting from the field.
- Beau Beech fouled out in just eight minutes of action, only scoring two points.
- Trahson Burrell, one of the emerging stars in the D-League, posted just five points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field.