The Fort Wayne Mad Ants had another solid week, going 2-1 to improve their overall record to 9-2. The Pacers' G League affiliate has the best record in the entire G League as of Tuesday morning.
After a four-game homestand, the Mad Ants opened up last week on the road against the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee's affiliate. Rookie forward Ben Moore scored a team-high 28 points off the bench to lead Fort Wayne to a 127-22 win.
Moore, who was invited to training camp with the Pacers, went 7-for-12 from the field (2-for-3 from 3-point range) and a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line while also pulling down eight rebounds.
Both Jarrod Uthoff (another Pacers training camp participant) and Walter Lemon Jr. (the reigning G League Player of the Month) also had strong performance for Fort Wayne in the win. Uthoff finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Lemon stuffed the stat sheet with 27 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, and four steals.
The Mad Ants got reinforcements over the weekend as two Pacers players joined the squad. Rookie center Ike Anigbogu was assigned to Fort Wayne for the second time this season, while two-way forward Alex Poythress reported to the Mad Ants for his first G League action of the season.
Both players got the start on Saturday against the Westchester Knicks, but the Mad Ants fell to New York's affiliate, snapping an eight-game winning streak with a 107-94 loss. Poythress led Fort Wayne with a team-high 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while Anigbogu added eight points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in 24 minutes.
Uthoff recorded a double-double in the loss, finishing with 10 points and 14 boards.
The Mad Ants bounced back on Monday with a 106-97 win over the Reno Bighorns (Sacramento's affiliate). Lemon was sensational, narrowly missing out on a triple-double with 28 points, 10 boards, and eight assists.
Uthoff added 21 points and 14 rebounds for Fort Wayne, while Poythress chipped in nine points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
As of Tuesday, both Lemon and Uthoff rank among the top performers in the G League. Lemon is tied for third in scoring (25.1 points per game), 13th in assists (6.5 per contest), and tied for fourth in steals (2.5 per game). Uthoff ranks 18th in scoring (20.3 points per contest), fourth in rebounding (10.1 per game), and 16th in blocks (1.6 per game).
The Mad Ants hit the road this week for three games. They play at Westchester on Wednesday at 7:00 PM, then play a pair of games at the Lakeland Magic (Orlando's affiliate) on Friday and Saturday night.
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.