Tulsa gave the NBA D-League's top defensive team a dose of its own medicine on Wednesday night.
The 66ers held Canton to just one field goal during a nearly nine-minute stretch of the second half while connecting on 61 percent of its field goal attempts to roll to a 118-99 victory in the opener of a three-game, first-round playoff series before 1,454 fans at the SpiritBank Event Center.
Oklahoma City Thunder assignee Jeremy Lamb poured in a game-high 24 points while three players - Tony Taylor, Rasual Butler and Andy Rautins - chipped in 18 points apiece to lead the way offensively for Tulsa, which led wire-to-wire.
Lamb scored 13 points while Butler had 14 points to help Tulsa, seeded No. 7 in the eight-team playoff field, take a 62-53 advantage at halftime against the Charge, which finished the regular season tops in the D-League defensively allowing 96.0 points a contest.
Rautins, who was scoreless in the first half, then tallied 13 points in the third quarter as the 66ers began to pull away. Rautins, who earlier this season set a D-League single-season mark for 3-pointers, had a trio of treys in his third-quarter outburst.
But it was Tulsa's defense that set the tone during a key stretch in the second half.
After Tulsa had opened up a 13-point lead following a Rautins 3-pointer, the Charge rallied to close to within 78-68 on a bucket by Micheal Eric with 5:11 to play in the third quarter.
But that would be Canton's final field goal until D'Aundray Brown swished a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the final period.
The Charge, seeded fourth in the playoffs, would not score again from the field until Brown connected on a 15-footer from the left wing with 8:17 remaining.
By that time, Tulsa regained a 15-point cushion and was on its way to capturing victory in its first playoff game at the SpiritBank Event Center.
"In the first half, we didn't do a good job of defending the pick and roll and Canton hurt us with some little pocket passes," Tulsa head coach Darko Rajakovic said.
"But in the third quarter, we did a better job of switching on screens. We also made a couple of steals that led to baskets."
Tulsa's defense forced 16 Canton turnovers, leading to 22 points for the 66ers. Tulsa also had 10 steals and five blocked shots. Butler recorded three blocks.
The 66ers made 48-of-79 shots and was just under 50 percent from 3-point range (11 of 24).
Besides dishing out five assists, Taylor was 7-of-8 from the field and connected on both his 3-point attempts.
Butler and Rautins each made 7-of-11 shots while Lamb was 11-of-18 from the floor.
"We shot the ball really well," Rajakovic said. "With our shooters, it is not a big problem to score this many points. Of course, it's not going to be easy to score (like this) every game."
With the win, Tulsa is now 5-1 all-time in the first round of the playoffs and 7-6 overall in postseason play. The 66ers are unbeaten (3-0) at home in the first round.
The series shifts to Canton for Game 2 on Friday night. If a Game 3 is necessary, it would be played Sunday in Canton.
Original Print Headline: Defense lifts 66ers to playoff win
Pro - 66ers
The Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League have announced plans for an open tryout.
The Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League tip off their season with back-to-back home games Nov. 22-23 against the Iowa Energy.
