The Wisconsin Herd was edged out by the Mexico City Capitanes 102-100 Jan. 12 at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, dropping the Herd down to third place in the Eastern Conference of the NBA G League.
The Herd (4-2) was led by guard Stephen Thompson, who scored 24 points on 6-for-10 shooting from behind the arc in the loss. Wisconsin had six other players finish in double figures, with forward Drew Timme scoring 14 points and center Wenyen Gabriel adding a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double.
As a team, the Herd shot 43.5% from the field and 48.1% from behind the arc. Wisconsin forced 15 Mexico City turnovers and the Herd finished the contest with eight blocked shots and seven steals.
The Capitanes (4-2) shot 48.8% from the floor and just 25% from 3-point land. Mexico City outrebounded the Herd 45-42, forced 11 Wisconsin turnovers and the Capitanes attempted seven more free throws.
Mexico City was led by guard Ethan Thompson who dropped 30 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field and finished the game with nine rebounds to go along with six assists. Maozinha Pereria added 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench while both Malique Lewis and Justin Wright-Foreman each scored 12 points. Former Herd forward Iverson Molinar finished with eight points for the Capitanes.
The Capitanes jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the first quarter, but the Herd came back to tie the game at 10 apiece after a 3-pointer from guard Kihei Clarck. Mexico City went on an 8-0 run midway through the period to take an 18-10 lead, but Wisconsin cut the deficit to one point with under three minutes to go in the quarter. The Capitanes outscored the visitors 9-6 for the remainder of the period to take a 27-23 at the break.
The two teams traded baskets to begin the second quarter, and a 3-pointer from Alex Antetokounmpo notched the game at 31 all. The Capitanes pulled ahead 40-35 after a 3-pointer from Lewis and a floater from Molinar, but another 3-pointer from Antetokounmpo tied the game at 49 a few minutes later. Pereria threw down a dunk with 15 seconds to go in the half to put Mexico City up three points, but the Herd’s Marques Bolden added a layup with three seconds to play to send Wisconsin into the locker room trailing 58-57.
Timme began the second half with a layup, giving the Herd a one-point lead early in the third quarter. After a Thompson 3-pointer, Wisconsin embarked on a 7-0 run midway through the period to give the Herd a six-point lead. With under five minutes to go in the third quarter, Gabriel converted on a layup and jumpstarted an 8-0 run to give Wisconsin a 76-64 advantage. The Herd maintained a double-digit for the rest of the quarter and went into the break leading 80-68.
The Capitanes scored the first points of the fourth quarter after Lewis nailed a 3-pointer, and Mexico City went on a 7-0 run with 10 minutes to play to cut the deficit to four points. Elijah Hughes knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Herd a seven-point lead, but with under four minutes to go in the final period, a Wright-Foreman 3-pointer started an 11-0 run from the Capitanes that saw Mexico City take a 98-93 lead.
Hughes responded with a 3-pointer to trim the Wisconsin deficit to two points, but Wright-Foreman added a layup to put the Capitanes up three points. Just six seconds later, Thompson connected on a 3-pointer to pull the Herd to within one point, but Mexico City connected on its free throws down the stretch for its fourth win of the season.
The Herd kicked off the G League regular season by taking down the Long Island Nets, Raptors 905 and the Greensboro Swarm to begin the season 4-0 before falling to the Stockton Kings and the Capitanes.
