Thanks to a quirk in the G League schedule, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants are in the midst of a nearly three-week long homestand. The Mad Ants, the Pacers' G League affiliate, hosted three games over the past week and have three more home games before finally hitting the road once again on Dec. 15.
Fort Wayne went 1-2 over the past week, dropping games to Raptors 905 and the Canton Charge but picking up a win over the Windy City Bulls.
The homestand began last Thursday with a matchup against Raptors 905, Toronto's affiliate. The visitors outscored the Mad Ants by 21 points after halftime en route to a 136-116 victory.
Pacers rookie Alize Johnson registered a double-double in the loss, collecting 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 11 rebounds (five offensive). Rob Gray scored a team-high 24 points off the bench, Omari Johnson added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Pacers two-way guard Davon Reed tallied 13 points, four boards, and two assists.
The Mad Ants bounced back on Saturday, rolling to a 98-77 win over Windy City, Chicago's affiliate. Alize Johnson had a monster game, racking up 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 17 rebounds (five offensive), three assists, and two blocks.
Omari Johnson chipped in 19 points and eight rebounds, Reed added 17 points and four assists, while Gray scored 17 off the bench.
Unfortunately, the Mad Ants fell again on Monday, as the Charge (Cleveland's affiliate) held them to a season-low point total in a 96-81 win. Despite the loss, Alize Johnson recorded his third straight double-double of the homestand, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds (four offensive), and four assists.
Second-year Pacers center Ike Anigbogu joined the Mad Ants on assignment for the game and also had a double-double, scoring 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting and pulling down 13 boards (four offensive). Stephan Hicks added 15 points and five rebounds, while Gray scored 12 points off the bench.
The Mad Ants are now 5-5 on the season, but that's good enough to have them in first place in the Central Division as of Tuesday morning, a half-game ahead of the Charge and the Grand Rapids Drive (Detroit's affiliate).
The Mad Ants also have a few players among the G League statistical leaders as of Tuesday morning. Johnson is third in rebounding (13.6 per game) and second in offensive rebounds (5 per contest). Anigbogu is 11th in rebounding (10.3), eighth in offensive rebounds (3.7), and 13th in blocks (1.8). Two-way guard Edmond Sumner, who has been with the Pacers for the past week, is fifth in the G League in scoring at 24.6 points per game.
The Mad Ants play twice more over the next week, hosting the Long Island Nets (Brooklyn's affiliate) on Friday, Dec. 7 and the Drive on Monday, Dec. 10. Both games are at 7:00 PM ET.
Stay tuned to Pacers.com for continued updates on the Mad Ants, and make sure to check out Pacers.com/MadAntsTV » to watch select Mad Ants games for free online.