The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers' G League affiliate, split a pair of road games last week as they continue inching toward locking up a playoff berth. With nine games remaining in the regular season, Fort Wayne is 25-16 on the year and four games ahead of the Grand Rapids Drive (Detroit's affiliate) for first place in the Central Division.
In this year's playoff format, the three division winners and three wild-card teams (the non-division winners with the the best records) from each conference reach the postseason. The top two division winners in each conference will earn first-round byes. If the season ended today, Fort Wayne would have a bye.
The Mad Ants helped their cause last Wednesday with a 115-104 victory over the Drive. G League Slam Dunk champion DeQuan Jones capped off a stellar month by scoring a game-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting while also collecting eight rebounds and four assists. The following day, Jones was named G League Player of the Month.
Pacers two-way forward Ben Moore added 17 points, six rebounds, and four steals in the win. Jarrod Uthoff, who participated in training camp with the Pacers, added 19 points off the bench, while Tra-Deon Hollins (12 points and 10 assists) recorded a double-double.
Pacers rookie center Ike Anigbogu had seven points, five rebounds, and one block in 15 minutes of action.
The Mad Ants saw their five-game win streak snapped on Sunday, when they fell in Austin to the Spurs (San Antonio's affiliate), 126-117. Jamil Wilson led the Mad Ants with 27 points off the bench in the loss, going 11-for-15 from the field (3-for-5 from 3-point range) to go along with eight rebounds and three assists.
Uthoff had 18 points and eight rebounds, Jones added 16 points, and Anigbogu finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three rebounds, and two blocks.
After his 10-day contract with the Pacers expired, Trey McKinney Jones rejoined the Mad Ants for Sunday's contest, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds, and two steals.
Fort Wayne will continue its jaunt through Texas over the next couple of days. They visit the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston's affiliate) on Tuesday night, then take on the Texas Legends (Dallas' affiliate) on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for 8:00 PM ET. The Mad Ants will return home on Friday to host the Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia's affiliate) at 7:00 PM.
Stay tuned to Pacers.com for continued updates on the Mad Ants, and make sure to check out Pacers.com/MadAntsTV » to watch Mad Ants games free online.