Abdul Gaddy has 20 Assist for Blue in Loss to Texas Legends
Courtesy of Thunder public relations:
The Oklahoma City Blue (12-17) fell to the Texas Legends (15-13), 144-140, on Thursday night.
A 24-9 run by the Blue to close out the last four minutes of the game pulled them within four points, but they could not overcome what a 19-point Legends lead was. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for Oklahoma City.
Abdul Gaddy tied a franchise record with a G League season-high 20 assists to go along with 12 points and seven rebounds. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell followed up his career mark from Tuesday with a new career-high 38 points tonight off the bench, shooting 5-of-9 from three.
“We want to play with pace on offense, and we didn’t defend that part of the game well, and they took advantage,” Head Coach Grant Gibbs said. “With 144, it’s going to be hard to win, obviously give them a lot of credit. I thought we gave them a lot of stuff at the rim in transition and gave them a lot at the foul line, and they knocked those down.”
The Blue trailed for most of the first half, finding themselves down 10 at halftime. The Blue used a run in the third quarter to cut what once was a 15-point Legends lead to three, but the Blue would not get any closer in the second half. Texas increased its advantage to as many as 19 in the fourth quarter and held on for the victory.
Kadeem Jack scored 22 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Blue, including 11 straight points to end the first quarter. Markel Brown led Blue starters with 21 points, shooting 6-of-10 from behind the arc. Two-way player Kevin Hervey added 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Legends two-way guard Jaylen Hoard scored a career-high 34 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds.
Up next, Oklahoma City heads to Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 31, for a game against the Stars at 8 p.m. CST in the Lifetime Activities Center.
