Week 4 of the K1 League is in the books. Catch up on all the day's action here:
12:30 pm - Warriors 72, Lakers 69
A blockbuster matchup kicked off the Week 4 slate as the undefeated Lakers matched up against a one-loss Warriors team, who came into Sunday's contest playing as well as any team in the league. The early storyline was that of the Lakers' lineup, who did not have Andre Robertson Jr. or LJ Harris available for Sunday's game. The Warriors took advantage of this, opening up a 41-21 halftime lead, and eventually extending it to a 31-point lead in the second half. Just as the Warriors became a bit too lackadaisical, the Lakers got hot, and came roaring all the way back in a stunning turn of events. The Lakers trimmed the Warriors lead all the way down to one point in the final minute, but were unable to connect on a half-court attempt at the buzzer. With the Warriors' 72-69 win, they improved to 4-1, and are now tied atop the West division standings with both the Lakers and the Spurs, who each have one loss. Top performers from the game for the Warriors included Sammie Hines (18 points), Tyree Mosley (17 points), and Latrell Tidwell (14 points and 9 rebounds). For the Lakers, Tone Brooks had 14 points and nine rebounds, Quon Shaw had 23 points and nine rebounds, while big man Rob Anderson had 8 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. The Warriors (4-1) will take on the Suns (0-4) next week at 2:30 pm, while the Lakers were back on court for another game against the Suns.
1:30 pm - Lakers 86, Suns 63
Just one week earlier, the Lakers squeaked by the Suns by a score of 54-53, in what was a rather surprising final score. The outcome of the two teams' rematch this past Sunday was never really in doubt, as the Lakers jumped out to an early lead and rode the hot hand of Quon Shaw, who went off for 42 points, the most points ever scored in a K1 League game, along the way to an 86-63 win. Shaw finished the game going 15/20 from the field, and making 9/13 Free Throws, along the way to a career performance. The Lakers would also benefit from a 45-32 rebounding advantage, highlighted by William Love and Rob Anderson, who each had 12 rebounds. Tone Brooks also had 21 points, while Andre Robertson had a season-high twelve points. For the Suns, Michael Lonergan Jr. had another nice game, scoring 15 points, and adding seven rebounds and six assists. Devonte Barnes had 12 points, while Dylan Winker and Bryant Jackson each had ten points. With the loss, the Suns fall to 0-4 and will take on the Warriors (4-1) at 2:30 pm in their Week 5 matchup. The Lakers improve to 5-1 with the victory and will take on the Bulls (2-2) next week at 1:30 pm.
2:30 pm - Bulls 69, Heat 57
In the first of three key matchups in the East Division, the Bulls started things off with a bang, as they played their best game of the season in a 69-57 win against the Heat. Coming into the game off of two consecutive blowout losses to the Bucks and the Nets, the Bulls welcomed backed coach Bobby Crivokapich, and relied heavily on their core three guys in the win. Seth Johnson had a monster performance, scoring 25 points and hauling in 18 rebounds to lead the way. Benito Munoz continued his strong play, scoring 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Although Crivokapich was only 5/19 from the field, he was able to add 14 points of his own. These three players alone scored 61 of the Bull's 69 points. The undersized Heat meanwhile struggled mightily on the glass, as they were out-rebounded by a margin of 41-27. Blake Graham and JJ Calvin did their best on the interior, but ultimately gave up a few too many inches against Johnson. Terrell Hendrix was good on the offensive end of the court, scoring 18 points. His kryptonite continues to be early foul trouble, which forced him to sit on the bench for a significant period of time. KT Bobo had 14 points of his own, while Alonzo King had nine points. Calvin led the way with seven rebounds. The Heat fall to 2-2 on the year and will take on the Spurs (4-1) next week in the 12:30 pm game. The Bulls improve to 2-2 and will take on the Lakers (5-1) at 1:30 pm.
3:30 pm - Bucks 59, Celtics 48
A shorthanded Bucks team found a way to get the job done on Sunday against a much taller and deeper Celtics team, winning by a score of 59-48. With only six players on hand, and no Kale Maupin in the lineup, the Bucks were forced to play a bit of small ball in a rather gritty win. Although the overall rebound advantage wasn't lopsided (37-33), the Celtics stayed in the game, thanks to a staggering 24 offensive rebounds. Their Achilles heel proved to be their shooting, as they connected on just 29% of their shots from the field (19/65). Jaquan Boxley had a nice bounce back game for the Bucks, scoring 15 points. Jordan Logan continued his impressive production, with 14 points and seven rebounds. Christian Straw had his best game of the season, scoring 13 points, while Caleb Johnson had seven points and nine rebounds. The Celtics were led by Donald Ellis and Mendi Naylor, who each had 13 points. Jay Slone led the charge on the glass with 12 rebounds. The Bucks improve to 3-1 with the win, and will play in their first doubleheader of the season next week against the Nets (2-2) at 4:30 pm and the Mavericks (0-5) at 5:30 pm. The Celtics fall to 1-3 with the loss, and would be right back on the court against the Nets in the 4:30 pm game.
4:30 pm - Nets 62, Celtics 38
For the first time all season, the Nets had their entire roster in the building, and the rest of the league is now on alert, as they rolled to a 62-38 win against the Celtics on Sunday afternoon. After getting guard Red Binion back in the lineup a week ago, both of the Nets' centers returned to action on Sunday, in Maurice Terrell and TJ Wicks. Terrell, who is coming off of a broken foot, played limited minutes on Sunday, but appeared to be playing without pain in what is a good stepping stone for him and the Nets. Center TJ Wicks had himself a nice game, scoring ten points on 4/5 shooting, and grabbing five rebounds. While the Nets were thrilled to have their full roster together for the first time all year, it was Binion who dominated, scoring 31 points and coming down with eight rebounds. Ronnie Jackson chipped in ten points of his own to continue a very nice season for him. For the Celtics, who were on the back end of a doubleheader, they struggled mightily from three-point range, connecting on just 5/29 attempts. Donald Ellis led the way with eight points, as no Celtics players were able to crack the double digit mark. Following a tough Sunday, the Celtics will be back in action next week at 3:30 pm with another matchup against the Nets (2-2). The Nets will have their first doubleheader of the year next Sunday, starting with this Celtics team (1-4), before matching up with the Bucks (3-1) in a pivotal East Division showdown at 4:30 pm.
5:30 pm - Spurs 95, Mavs 63
In the final game of the day, the Spurs continued to display their dominance in a 95-63 win, as they finished off a season sweep of the Mavericks. Dennis Koger stole the show in this one, recording the first ever triple double in K1 League history, with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Ryan Kvasnicka had 24 points to lead the Spurs, while Trey Johnson had 15 points. Austin Halcomb returned to the lineup with 12 points, while Chris Green added 11 points. The Spurs shot a blistering 59% from the field, and had 21 more rebounds than the Mavericks did. For this Mavericks team, they played arguably their best half of the season on Sunday, as they trailed the mighty Spurs by just nine points at halftime, 39-30. The difference in the game was the second half where the Spurs would go on to score 56 points and put the game away. Jamari Washington had 22 points for the Mavericks, while Jamir Hinds had 15 points and Braijon Thomas added 14 points. The Spurs improve to 4-1 on the year and are tied at the top of the West division with the Lakers and the Warriors. They will open up the Week 5 slate against the Heat With the loss, the Mavericks fall to 0-5 and will take on the Bucks (3-1) next week at 5:30 pm.