Cold-shooting 66ers fall to Idaho
BY DUANE DAPRON World Correspondent
Saturday, January 05, 2013
1/05/13 at 6:23 AM
BIXBY - There was no home-court magic for the Tulsa 66ers on Friday
Last-place Idaho dominated in the paint while shooting 52 percent from the field to build a 20-point fourth-quarter lead before claiming a 114-99 NBA D-League victory before a crowd of 1,161 at the SpiritBank Event Center.
The setback was the third straight for Tulsa (8-6) and only the second loss in nine home games for the 66ers. With a victory, Tulsa could have moved into a first-place tie with the Texas Legends in the league's Central Division.
But instead it was Idaho, which entered the game with a league-worst 3-12 record, that captured its third consecutive victory and second road win in as many days.
Forward Shawn Evans tallied a game-high 21 points, hitting 10-of-17 shots from the floor, as Idaho outscored Tulsa 72-36 in the paint. Fellow forward Justin Holiday scored 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while center Josh Owens added 16 points while connecting on 8-of-10 from the field.
"What we needed was to do a better job of protecting in the paint," Tulsa head coach Darko Rajakovic said.
Tulsa was also outrebounded (49-43) by the Stampede, and the 66ers allowed Idaho to grab 16 offensive rebounds, leading to 21 second-chance points for the visitors.
"For us tonight, offense was not the problem," Rajakovic said. "Defensive stops and rebounding need to be our focus."
Of the eight 66ers who scored in the contest, seven finished in double figures.
Dominique Sutton ended up with 18 points and a game-high 16 rebounds while Daniel Orton also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
But Tulsa managed to hit on only 41 percent of its field goals (33-of-80) and just 7-of-25 from 3-point range. The 66ers hit four 3-pointers in the opening quarter then did not register another basket from beyond the arc until Andy Rautins, who had 18 points, nailed a trey with 8:46 remaining in the game.
Rautins' 3-pointer brought Tulsa within 12 points after Idaho had opened up its biggest lead of the game, 90-70, with 11:06 to play.
Rautins, who had five of Tulsa's seven 3-pointers, helped the 66ers draw to within 10 points with 2:09 to play. But that was as close as Tulsa would get.
"I want to give credit to our guys for staying in the game all 48 minutes," Rajakovic said. "Unfortunately, we finished short."
Original Print Headline: 66ers suffer home loss to Stampede
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