The Los Angeles D-Fenders got 22 points for Los Angeles Lakers’ assigneee David Nwaba, but it wasn’t enough to take game one of their three-game playoff series against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, falling 124-116 on the road after being outscored 14-6 in overtime.
The D-Fenders started the game down 18-7, and kept closing within two points but couldn’t take a lead in the first, and trailed 35-29 after one quarter of play while shooting 46 percent from the field in the first.
Los Angeles fared better in the next quarter, taking a 39-37 lead on a 3-pointer from veteran guard Andre Ingram (11 points, 3-4 on threes), and 15 second-quarter points from suddenly unstoppable 34-year-old rookie reserve Troy DeVries allowed Los Angeles to take a 64-56 lead into halftime.