Colorado 136, Flash 131 (OT)
Morris Almond's lost season took another bewildering turn Wednesday night, when he did not play in the final 24 minutes of Colorado's 136-131 overtime win over the Utah Flash in Game 1 of the -League championship series.
Almond wasn't hurt.
Almond wasn't in foul trouble.
Almond and the Flash were simply struggling and, when coach Brad Jones took him out of the game midway through the third quarter, Utah began rallying from a 16-point deficit. Jones ended up sticking with the players who started bringing his team back, meaning the Utah Jazz shooting guard on assignment to the D-League stayed on the bench behind players like Andre Ingram, Bennett Davis and Gavin Grant.
Now, Ingram, Davis and Grant played well against Colorado and they have contributed to the Flash's outstanding season. But none are former first-round NBA draft picks.
Almond ended up with 18 points in 24 minutes against Colorado, but he was 0-for-3 on three-pointers and had a difficult time on defense in the first half, when the 14ers scored 78 points.
Asked if Almond "didn't fit" with the team that rallied the Flash, Jones said, "I won't say he didn't fit; that group just got it going. I played guys a lot of minutes because it was really going well. It just ended up with [Almond] being the odd-guy-out. It had nothing to do with him playing good or bad. We just had a group in there that finally had a little life about them and I tried to go with that group."
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Game notes: A crowd of 4,085 watched the the Flash's first-ever game in the D-League finals. ... Flash point guard Kevin Kruger played 49 minutes. ... Former University of Wyoming star Josh Davis had 25 points and eight rebounds for Colorado. His three-pointer gave the 14ers a 128-126 lead in overtime. ... Weber State product Eddie Gill finished with 12 points and eight assists for Colorado. ... The 14ers scored their 100th point in the final minute of the third quarter. ... Utah missed six of 14 free throws in the final 3:40 of regulation and overtime. ... Why do coaches get technical fouls? Colorado shot 20 of the game's first 25 free throws. After Jones got a technical midway through the second quarter, the Flash shot 21 of the next 28. In the end, the teams attempted a staggering 103 free throws -- 54 by Utah and 49 by Colorado. ... Among the faces in the crowd were Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin, Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden, Jazz director of basketball operations Richard Smith, Jazz scout David Fredman, Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Barry Hecker and NBA referee Gary Zielinski, who lives in Utah.
Almond wasn't hurt.
Almond wasn't in foul trouble.
Almond and the Flash were simply struggling and, when coach Brad Jones took him out of the game midway through the third quarter, Utah began rallying from a 16-point deficit. Jones ended up sticking with the players who started bringing his team back, meaning the Utah Jazz shooting guard on assignment to the D-League stayed on the bench behind players like Andre Ingram, Bennett Davis and Gavin Grant.
Now, Ingram, Davis and Grant played well against Colorado and they have contributed to the Flash's outstanding season. But none are former first-round NBA draft picks.
Almond ended up with 18 points in 24 minutes against Colorado, but he was 0-for-3 on three-pointers and had a difficult time on defense in the first half, when the 14ers scored 78 points.
Asked if Almond "didn't fit" with the team that rallied the Flash, Jones said, "I won't say he didn't fit; that group just got it going. I played guys a lot of minutes because it was really going well. It just ended up with [Almond] being the odd-guy-out. It had nothing to do with him playing good or bad. We just had a group in there that finally had a little life about them and I tried to go with that group."
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Game notes: A crowd of 4,085 watched the the Flash's first-ever game in the D-League finals. ... Flash point guard Kevin Kruger played 49 minutes. ... Former University of Wyoming star Josh Davis had 25 points and eight rebounds for Colorado. His three-pointer gave the 14ers a 128-126 lead in overtime. ... Weber State product Eddie Gill finished with 12 points and eight assists for Colorado. ... The 14ers scored their 100th point in the final minute of the third quarter. ... Utah missed six of 14 free throws in the final 3:40 of regulation and overtime. ... Why do coaches get technical fouls? Colorado shot 20 of the game's first 25 free throws. After Jones got a technical midway through the second quarter, the Flash shot 21 of the next 28. In the end, the teams attempted a staggering 103 free throws -- 54 by Utah and 49 by Colorado. ... Among the faces in the crowd were Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin, Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden, Jazz director of basketball operations Richard Smith, Jazz scout David Fredman, Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Barry Hecker and NBA referee Gary Zielinski, who lives in Utah.
12:40 AM
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