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The NBA G League Ignite lived up to the hype in their official developmental league debut after surviving the Santa Cruz Warriors, 109-104, on Wednesday, February 10 (Thursday, February 11, Manila time) at the Disney World bubble in Orlando, Florida.
Congolese forward Jonathan Kuminga picked up where he left off in scrimmages after leading all prospects with 19 points on 9-of-18 shooting, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Fellow top prospects Daishen Nix and Fil-Am Jalen Green were no slouches in their pro league debuts, either, with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
NBA veteran Jarrett Jack, meanwhile, proved he still has it at age 37 after leading all scorers with 23 points off the bench on a near-perfect 9-of-10 clip in just 18 minutes.
After going down by as many as 19 points, 75-94, at the start of the 4th quarter, the Warriors got back within striking distance after Dusty Hannahs buried two straight triples to cut the lead to 8, 91-99, capping off a 16-5 run.
NBA rookie Nico Mannion then scored 5 straight points off a quick pull-up triple and two late free throws to get Santa Cruz within 3, 100-103, at the 1:41 mark.
NBA champion coach Brian Shaw was then forced to plug Jack back in, and the big league veteran showed the young Warriors how it’s done with a game-sealing mid-range jumper for the 107-102 lead with 19.3 ticks left.
Despite the final score, Ignite was initially headed for a blowout after the first half as they left Santa Cruz in the dust with a massive 33-5 run for a 65-48 lead.
They went as far ahead as 20 points, 85-65, at the 3:41 mark of the 3rd frame before the Warriors slowly chipped away at the deficit by the payoff period.
The 21-year-old Jordan Poole, who started 14 games for the Golden State Warriors last season, led Santa Cruz in the losing effort with 22 points on 22 shots.
NBA champion guard Jeremy Lin made his US league comeback after a season in China with 18 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Indian center Princepal Singh and Filipino big man Kai Sotto were on the inactive list for Ignite in their winning debut. (READ: New dawn, new blood: Who are the NBA G League Ignite prospects?)
Sotto is currently at home in the Philippines training with the Gilas Pilipinas national team for the final window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
Ignite will get one day off before facing the Oklahoma City Blue on Saturday, February 13, Manila time, in the first game of a back-to-back set. – Rappler.com
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