DALLAS 64, SACRAMENTO 62
DEMONS STEAL GAME 1 CLIFFHANGER
SACRAMENTO -- It wasn't until the final shot in the game's final time unit that Game 1 of this highly anticipated Finals match was decided.
Hall of Fame Dallas forward Chip Battoe had just driven to the basket for the bucket that gave his team a 2-point lead, giving the home team River Dogs one time unit left to tie or win the game. Third-year Sacramento point guard Great Gruncle Terry took the deciding trey at the horn and was denied by Bingo Bango (the shot was no good anyway), giving the Demons a 64-62 road win.
It was the first home loss of the season for Sacramento and kept the Dallas bunch unbeaten in the post-season, ahead 1-0 in the best of 5 title series.
High-powered defenses kept the dynamic offenses of these two powerhouse clubs in check throughout the game, and only time will tell if either team will be able to approach their 80-plus points average per game in these Finals.
Dallas can point to its 9 of 12 3-point shooting as a deciding factor in this win, while Sacramento stayed close in part due to its made free throw margin of 10 to 1.
At one point in the second half, Dallas led by as many as 10 points, but Sacramento came slowly back to tie the score down the stretch. From there it was a white-knuckle affair, with the teams trading hard-won baskets, until the Demons turned to (who else?) Battoe for his game-winning drive to the hole.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
CHIP "THE CRIP" BATTOE, Dallas' fourth-year forward, showed why he is a Hall of Famer and considered the top player in today's MBA. The MVP for the fourth time this season scored a game-high 20 points, including the clutch contest-winning hoop in the highly-charged atmosphere of this Game 1 Finals event. He was 9 for 14 from the field, including 2 for 2 from 3-Point Land, pulled down 5 rebounds, led his team with 3 blocked shots and frustrated the top scorer on the River Dogs, Doo-rag Dripp, holding him to just 4 points.
Standout point guard GREAT GRUNCLE TERRY of Sacramento missed the final trey that could have given his team the Game 1 win, but without his efforts throughout the game, the River Dogs would have not had that longshot opportunity. Terry racked up his third POG of the post-season, narrowly missing another triple-double (and the rarest of all...a quadruple double) as he dominated point guard play over Louie Subgum. The third-year man filled up the various stat columns with 15 points, tying for game-high in assists with 4 and in blocked shots with 4 while pulling down a team-high 5 rebounds. He was 5 for 11 from the floor (1 for 3 from deep) and a perfect 4 for 4 from the foul line.
OTHER 20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS
-- Sacramento shooting guard Potus Obama led his team in scoring with 17 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, had 2 assists and 1 steal in the loss.
-- Veteran 10-year forward Pap Smearz had a shaky start but straightened up to have a fine game with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
NEXT UP: The teams head to Big D as the Demons, unbeaten at home all season, look to take command in what is already looking like a must-win for Sacramento.
No comments:
Post a Comment