The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers' G League affiliate, went 2-1 last week. The Mad Ants dropped a game to the Westchester Knicks last Thursday before bouncing back with wins over the Oklahoma City Blue and Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Fort Wayne closed out a six-game homestand on Thursday, but didn't get the result they were looking for against the Knicks. New York's affiliate used a 37-19 third quarter to pull away for a 131-105 victory.
Second-year Pacers center Ike Anigbogu led the Mad Ants with 20 points in the loss on 6-of-12 shooting. Anigbogu also pulled down five rebounds and blocked three shots in 30 minutes of action.
Omari Johnson, who participated in training camp with the Pacers, added 18 points and five rebounds, while Stephan Hicks had 13 points and four boards.
The Mad Ants bounced back on Saturday, winning their first road game in nearly three weeks with a 113-94 victory over the Blue (the Thunder's affiliate). Rookie guard Rob Gray had a huge performance off the bench for Fort Wayne, scoring 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting (5-of-7 from 3-point range) to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
Hicks added 20 points and seven rebounds in the win, while Pacers two-way guard Davon Reed chipped in 14 points and nine boards.
The Mad Ants returned home on Monday and took care of business against Rio Grande Valley (Houston's affiliate), handing the Vipers a 126-110 defeat.
Pacers rookie guard Alize Johnson joined the Mad Ants on assignment on Monday and had a monster night, racking up 22 points, 14 rebounds (eight offensive), and five assists.
Hicks had a team-high 26 points, Gray scored 23 off the bench, and Reed tallied 21 in the victory.
The Mad Ants are now 8-7 on the season, which has them in first place in the Central Division as of Wednesday morning.
As of Wednesday, Johnson is third in the G League in rebounding at 13.5 boards per game, while Anigbogu is tied for 15th at 9.5 per contest. Anigbogu is also 13th in blocks (1.9 per game). Guard Tra-Deon Hollins is tied for second in both assists (8.2 per game) and steals (2.3 per contest).
The Mad Ants return to action this week at the G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas, the league's premier in-season scouting event. All 27 G League teams play two games during the four-day event. Fort Wayne takes on the Salt Lake City Stars (Utah's affiliate) on Thursday night at 8:00 PM ET on NBA TV and the South Bay Lakers (the Lakers' affiliate) on Saturday at 3:00 PM ET on ESPN+.
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.