Idaho 93, Los Angeles 90LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28 – The D-League’s marquee matchup between the top teams lived up to
the hype Thursday at STAPLES Center as the first-place Idaho Stampede pulled out a 93-90
victory over the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
In the fourth quarter, there were four ties and nine lead changes, the last on Randy
Livingston's layup with 47 seconds tha gave the Stampede a 91-90 lead.
Jason Ellis capped the scoring with a pair of free throws for Idaho (26-8), which
expanded its lead in the West Division to 3 1/2 games over Los Angeles.
After Livingston's layup, Stephane Lasme missed a shot for Los Angeles. Following the free
trows by Ellis, Sean Banks missed a shot.
"We made some mistakes in our execution and they were able to make plays," D-Fenders
coach Dan Panaggio said. "Professional games come down to crunch time and the team that
executes win."
Livingston collected 27 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Recently reacquired
forward Luke Jackson added 17 points and four assists.
"It was an important game for both teams," Livingston said. "We knew that coming in
and we were able to leave on a solid note."
Banks scored 24 points for Los Angeles (22-11), which used a 21-4 run to take a 49-42
lead into halftime. Lasme contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.
The teams meet again Sunday at 4 p.m. following the Lakers-Mavericks NBA game.
