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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla .– Jalen Green decided to attack on Monday as NBA G League Ignite faced a win or come home in the first round of the playoffs, which brought the 19-year-old to produce his best game of the season.
Unfortunately, the performance was ultimately not enough.
Green scored a season-high 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead the Ignite in the 127-102 loss to the 905 Raptors. He ended the fight shooting 11 of 20 from the field, including 3 on 10. from 3 points, in 41 minutes of work.
He scored 20 points alone in the second half, playing all 24 minutes.
“I asked him a couple of times in the second half if he was tired and he wanted to stay,” Ignite head coach Brian Shaw said. “I think he really showed what it was about. Not only did he lead us in scoring, but he also had his career record in assists. He rebounded the ball and also defended. He showed why he is this guy. Leaving him in there, we were down there, but he never gave up. He just demonstrated why he is worthy of all the accolades and all the hype he gets.
The Ignite entered at halftime 13 points behind, with the deficit finally reaching 20 points in the third quarter. Behind Green’s play, the Ignite managed to reduce the lead to 13 points after piercing a 3-pointer beating the buzzer to end the quarter on a 7-0 run.
From there, the Ignite came within 12 points, but ran out of gas as the 905 pulled away from the stretch. Despite his shortfall, Green wanted to give him everything he had in what became the last game of the season.
“Fair attack. (I just wanted to) stay in attack mode, ”Green said. “Just keep doing it. It was right there. We hit it within 13 points at the end of the third quarter. My mindset was just to keep going and do whatever it takes.
With the loss, the Ignited ended their inaugural season with an 8-8 record.
The team entered the season with different expectations compared to other teams. Wins and losses weren’t necessarily so big, with the development of players like Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix the top priority.
The goal of Ignite is to provide an opportunity for high level prospects to grow and prepare for the next level. After all, the squad has essentially been overhauled in order to keep these types of players in the United States rather than playing professionally overseas.
When that is factored in, the Ignite has had a successful season.
“I thought it was a success from start to finish, whatever that last game was,” Shaw said. “No one expected us to win a game, let alone the playoffs. I thought (NBA G League president) Shareef (Abdur-Rahim) and (NBA G League manager) Rod (Strickland) did a great job bringing this team together and adding the right kind of veterans to accompany our young guys.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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