Jam cranks up intensity level in win over Sioux Falls
| Sunday, Mar 22 2009 01:47 AM
Last Updated Monday, Mar 30 2009 04:24 PM
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The Jam's Alpha Bangura splits a couple Sioux Falls defenders Saturday while going to the basket.
The Jam's Derrick Byars gets fouled by the Skyforce's Alexis Ajinca during Saturday's game at Rabobank Arena.
The start of the NBA D-League postseason is three weeks away. But based on the way the Bakersfield Jam played Saturday night, it isn't waiting that long to go into playoff mode.
Playing at noticeably higher intensity level than normal, the Jam powered past Sioux Falls 108-96 in front of an announced crowd of 3,391 at Rabobank Arena.
After a tight first half the Jam began the second half on a 12-2 tear to go up by 12 and take control.
"I came in at halftime and told them 'I don't know if you can feel it but I can feel this is a playoff atmosphere," Jam coach Scott Roth said. "...You could just kind of feel it in the air a little bit because it was a hard-fought game against a very good team."
Trey Johnson had 21 points to lead the Jam (24-19) in scoring for the seventh straight game. Derrick Byars had 20 points and Mateen Cleaves added 17 points and 11 assists for Bakersfield, which won its third straight.
The win, combined with Dakota's loss to Colorado earlier in the evening, moves the Jam half a game ahead of the Wizards for the No. 6 spot in the D-League playoff chase.
Kasib Powell led the Skyforce with 21 points.
The Jam's renewed fervor started at the game's opening tap but didn't translate to the scoreboard until the third quarter began.
"We got off to a nice start there (in the second half)," Roth said. "I don't exactly what it was but for the first five or six minutes we kind of jumped on them."
Getting contributions from throughout its lineup, the Jam extended its lead to 17 late in the third period.
Sioux Falls (22-22), which had its two-game winning streak snapped, never got closer than seven points after that.
"We're treating each game like it's the playoffs already," Jam guard Alpha Bangura said. "We have a great leader in Mateen Cleaves...He's real energetic and real positive. We feel the energy coming from him. Guys just naturally follow that lead."
Bangura had 14 points off the bench for Bakersfield.
The Jam shot 54-percent from the floor, including 5-of-11 3-pointers. The Skyforce, the worst shooting team in the league coming into the game, made 48.7-percent of its attempts but only 3-of-12 3-pointers.
The Jam led 52-50 after a first half that featured nine lead changes and neither team establishing more than a six-point lead. Bakersfield, led by 5-for-5 shooting by Johnson, sizzled from the field, hitting 59 percent of its shots.
The Skyforce led 19-15 midway through the first quarter behind nine quick points from the lightning-quick Williams.
Sioux Falls was up by six until Johnson made a leaner from the free throw line and a pair of 3-pointers to help Bakersfield pull ahead 23-21 with 3:51 remaining in the period.
The Jam made 65-percent its field goal attempts en route a 26-25 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The lead might have been bigger but Bakersfield turned the ball over six times.
