The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers' G League affiliate, have gone 1-2 over the past week, splitting a pair of games at the G League Showcase and then dropping a road game on Wednesday morning. At 15-12, Fort Wayne is currently in second place in the Central Division, just a half-game back of the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee's affiliate).
The annual G League Showcase took place last week in Mississauga, Ontario. Each team plays twice in the event, designed to allow NBA team scouts and team personnel the opportunity to evaluate up-and-coming talent across the G League.
The Mad Ants opened the Showcase last Thursday with a thrilling, nationally televised contest against the Oklahoma City Blue (the Thunder's affiliate). After tying the game at 108 on Stephan Hicks' dunk with 41.1 seconds remaining, the Mad Ants got a stop and had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but things went awry.
P.J. Dozier stole Walter Lemon, Jr.'s pass and raced to the other end, making the game-winning layup just before the final buzzer to lift the Blue to a 110-108 win.
Five players scored exactly 14 points for the Mad Ants against Oklahoma City. Jarrod Uthoff and Ben Moore — the latter of whom signed a two-way contract with the Pacers the next day — each recorded double-doubles, finishing with 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively. Lemon added five rebounds and seven assists, while both DeQuan Jones and C.J. Fair also were members of the 14-point club.
Pacers rookie center Ike Anigbogu started and logged 20 minutes in his last G League action before being recalled to Indiana, finishing with seven points, seven boards, and three blocks.
The Mad Ants bounced back on Saturday by stomping the Salt Lake City Stars (Utah's affiliate), 113-93. Trey McKinney-Jones led all scorers with 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Lemon added 18 points and seven assists, Jones scored 16 points, and Moore chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds.
Fort Wayne returned to action on Wednesday morning, falling to the Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia's affiliate), 127-120. Hicks (21 points and eight rebounds) and Moore (21 points and five boards) shared high-scoring honors for the Mad Ants in the loss.
McKinney-Jones tallied 17 points off the bench, while Lemon chipped in 16.
Both Lemon and Uthoff remain among the G League leaders in several statistical categories. Lemon is tied for fifth in scoring (22.3 points per game), 13th in assists (6.4 per contest), and tied for sixth in steals (2.0 per game). Uthoff ranks 16th in rebounding (8.3 per game) and is tied for 19th in blocks (1.3 per contest).
The Mad Ants will host the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami's affiliate) on Friday before embarking on a four-game road trip.
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.