The Wisconsin Herd won their fourth straight game after taking down the Long Island Nets 133-118 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Feb. 7.
The Herd (10-8) sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference of the NBA G League and are 1.5 games behind the first-place Delaware Blue Coats. Only the top six teams in each conference qualify for the G League playoffs in April.
Wisconsin had three players score over 20 points and three players finish with a double-double in the win. Forward Marquese Chriss scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while TyTy Washington Jr. added 24 points and eight assists. Center Marques Bolden finished with 23 points and 12 boards for his fourth straight double-double. Forward Chris Livingston added 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Herd shot 51% from the field and 38.9% from 3-point range in the win. The Herd outrebounded the Nets 57-37, finished with more assists (31-23) and forced 14 Long Island turnovers.
Long Island (9-7) finished the game shooting 46.1% from the field and 33.3% from behind the arc. The Nets forced 19 Herd turnovers and had 14 steals and nine blocked shots.
The Nets were led by forward Keon Johnson, who scored 24 points and nine rebounds. Guards Kyler Edwards and Davion Warren both finished with 19 points while Kennedy Chandler added 16 points.
Wisconsin opened the scoring with a layup from Washington Jr. to begin the first quarter, but Edwards responded with a 3-pointer to give the Nets an early 3-2 lead. A jumper from Washington Jr. sparked a 16-4 run that gave the Herd a 13-point advantage midway through the quarter. Wisconsin scored three straight baskets to take a 20-point lead, but a 3-pointer from Long Island’s Kaiser Gates and a layup from Terry Roberts cut the Herd advantage down to 44-29 at the end of the period.
Both teams traded baskets to begin the second quarter until Wisconsin went on a 10-2 run to take a 21-point lead after a Livingston layup. The Herd opened up a 25-point lead after a jumper from Washington Jr. and maintained a 71-51 advantage at halftime.
The Nets trimmed the deficit to 18-points to begin the third quarter, but Chriss responded with a 3-pointer and the Herd held onto a 20-point lead for most of the period. Long Island’s Trey McGowens hit a jumper off the glass with five minutes remaining in the quarter which jump started a 14-5 run that brought the Nets to within 10 points. Hughes nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Herd led 104-91 at the break.
The Herd began the fourth quarter with a layup from Malachi Smith to take a 15-point lead, but a free throw from Warren cut Long Island’s deficit to 11 points. Hughes hit a jumper with eight minutes remaining that kickstarted an 8-0 run which gave the Herd a 121-102 advantage. Wisconsin never looked back and cruised to a 15-point win.
