Big Third Quarter Helps Vipers Top Legends

HIDALGO, Texas — The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (21-14), NBA D-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, came out on top of the Texas Legends (15-18) on a Valentine’s Day showdown. The Vipers defeated the Legends 141-133 after recuperating from a 17-point deficit.
Kyle Wiltjer, the scoring leader for the Vipers, scored 29 points. Two RGV players recorded double-doubles. Darius Morris had 26 points and 14 assists. Chinanu Onuaku scored 26 points and 12 rebounds. Ben Gordon scored 29 points for the Texas Legends.
The RGV Vipers started the first half chasing the Legends. Ben Gordon’s 13 points in the opening quarter established the rhythm for the away team. The momentum resulted in Texas extending their lead to double-digits in the first quarter.
Jameel Warney scored nine points coming out of the bench in the second quarter, which helped the Legends hold on to their lead. Isaiah Taylor did his part for the Vipers scoring 12 points in the half. RGV trailed 73-77.
Kyle Wiltjer put his shooting skills on display in the third quarter, scoring 23 points to shift momentum toward the Vipers’ side. Rio Grande Valley’s defense stepped up and limited the Texas offense to just 20 points in the third to capture the 112-97 lead.
Chinanu Onuaku cemented the Viper’s advantage in the fourth. Onuaku scored 11 points and collected 8 rebounds on the closing minutes of the game. The Vipers extended their winning streak to three games with the 141-133 win. The Vipers have not lost a game when shooting at a 50% percent or better.

• • TEX
  • 44
  • 33
  • 20
  • 36
  • 133
• • RGV
  • 29
  • 44
  • 39
  • 29
  • 141

• Arena

  State Farm Arena
  

• Officials

  #45 Ray Acosta, #62 Jeff Wooten, #43 Saif Esho
  

• Attendance

  3739
  

• Download Game Book (PDF)

Texas Legends

	POS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	+/-	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	PF	STL	TO	BS	BA	PTS
C.J. Williams 21	F	36	8-13	5-9	0-0	-4	0	6	6	7	2	1	1	0	0	21
J.J. Avila 31	F	18	5-8	0-0	1-1	-9	1	1	2	4	1	1	1	0	0	11
AJ Hammons 50	C	24	6-15	0-1	1-2	-4	3	4	7	0	5	0	1	3	1	13
Bryson Fonville 8	G	32	2-6	1-2	0-0	-4	0	1	1	8	3	2	1	0	0	5
Ben Gordon 3	G	32	8-11	6-9	7-7	-3	1	1	2	4	4	0	3	0	0	29
Jameel Warney 0		23	9-12	0-0	2-3	-4	2	1	3	3	2	1	1	1	0	20
Manny Harris 5		34	7-12	4-7	0-0	1	0	9	9	7	1	0	2	0	1	18
Stephane Lasme 13		13	1-3	0-1	0-0	-8	0	1	1	0	4	0	2	1	0	2
Andre Dawkins 24		20	4-10	4-8	0-2	-3	1	2	3	0	2	0	3	0	0	12
Keith Hornsby 4		3	1-1	0-0	0-0	-2	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
Satnam Singh 52	DNP - Coach's Decision
Kyle Collinsworth 6	DNP - Inactive
Pierre Jackson 55	DNP - Inactive
Total	-	-	51-91	20-37	11-15	-	9	26	35	33	24	5	16	5	2	133
Percentages			56%	54%	73%

C.J. Williams 21
J.J. Avila 31
AJ Hammons 50
Bryson Fonville 8
Ben Gordon 3
Jameel Warney 0
Manny Harris 5
Stephane Lasme 13
Andre Dawkins 24
Keith Hornsby 4
Satnam Singh 52
Kyle Collinsworth 6
Pierre Jackson 55
Total
Percentages

Rio Grande Valley Vipers

	POS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	+/-	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	PF	STL	TO	BS	BA	PTS
JP Tokoto 6	F	36	5-9	2-5	0-0	-1	1	0	1	3	3	2	1	0	0	12
Kyle Wiltjer 18	F	34	10-17	7-12	2-2	12	1	3	4	3	1	2	2	0	0	29
Chinanu Onuaku 23	C	34	10-14	0-1	6-7	3	2	10	12	3	4	1	0	1	3	26
Gary Payton II 0	G	38	4-8	3-6	2-2	7	1	3	4	7	3	3	1	0	0	13
Darius Morris 9	G	39	9-14	6-8	2-2	17	0	6	6	14	0	0	5	0	0	26
Isaiah Taylor 1		31	5-11	1-4	7-9	-1	0	1	1	4	1	1	2	0	0	18
Chris Walker 5		14	2-7	0-0	4-4	-6	1	3	4	1	1	1	1	0	1	8
Joshua Smith 32		11	4-8	0-0	1-1	9	2	1	3	1	1	2	1	1	1	9
Chris Johnson 10	DNP - Coach's Decision
Markus Kennedy 12	DNP - Coach's Decision
Le'Bryan Nash 2	DNP - Coach's Decision
Jarvis Threatt 4	DNP - Coach's Decision
PJ Hairston 15	DNP - Inactive
Julien Lewis 13	DNP - Inactive
Total	-	-	49-88	19-36	24-27	-	8	27	35	36	14	12	13	2	5	141
Percentages			56%	53%	89%

JP Tokoto 6
Kyle Wiltjer 18
Chinanu Onuaku 23
Gary Payton II 0
Darius Morris 9
Isaiah Taylor 1
Chris Walker 5
Joshua Smith 32
Chris Johnson 10
Markus Kennedy 12
Le'Bryan Nash 2
Jarvis Threatt 4
PJ Hairston 15
Julien Lewis 13
Total
Percentages

Inactive

• Vipers: #10 Chris Johnson, #12 Markus Kennedy, # 2 Le'Bryan Nash, # 4 Jarvis Threatt, #15 PJ Hairston, #13 Julien Lewis
  
• Legends: #52 Satnam Singh, # 6 Kyle Collinsworth, #55 Pierre Jackson
  

Technical Fouls

• Vipers: 0
  
• Legends 1
  

Scoring

• Lead Changes: 6
  
• Times Tied: 2