Here’s a recap of all four games:
POWER 51, BALL HOGS 34
Cuttino Mobley scored a game-high 21 points as Power improved to 4-1. The game started and finished the same way – with a 3-point shot from DeShawn Stevenson. After Stevenson opened the game with a three, Power jumped out to a 9-point lead before a 3-pointer from Ball Hogs captain Brian Scalabrine tied the game at 20. But Power took control from there. They scored the next six points to take a 26-20 lead into halftime. It was more of the same from there, as Power led by double digits most of the second half.
Stevenson’s third 3-pointer of the game clinched it. He has three game-winning shots this season – all threes. Stevenson finished with 11 points, as did Jerome Williams, who also pulled down 8 boards. Paul McPhersonand Kendall Gill scored 4 apiece. Rasual Butler has 12 points and Derrick Byars had 9 for the Ball Hogs, who fell to 1-4.
TRILOGY 51, TRI-STATE 34
Rashad McCants had another big day, pouring in a Week 5-best 27 points. McCants scored seven of Trilogy’s first nine points as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but Tri-State came to play – going on an 11-2 run to grab the lead. That’s when Trilogy captain Kenyon Martin – playing in his first game since suffering an injury in Week 1 – hit a jumper to take back a lead they never relinquished. Trilogy went up by eight at halftime, 26-18.
Down by 14 in the second half, Tri-State did have one more push left. Mike James, who finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds, scored eight in a row during a 10-2 Tri-State run that closed the gap to 36-30. But the BIG3’s only undefeated team took over from there, closing the game on a 15-4 run that ended with a dunk from James White, who poured in 16. K-Mart finished with 4 points in his triumphant return to BIG3 action, as did co-captain Al Harrington. Trilogy is 5-0; Tri-State is 1-4.
3-HEADED MONSTERS 51, 3’S COMPANY 32
What began as the tightest game of the day turned into a one-sided affair for the 3-Headed Monsters in the second half. They led for much of the first half, though it remained close and the game was tied up five times. A Rashard Lewis layup game the Monsters a 25-22 lead going into halftime. The second half started out evenly, but just until it was 34-28. The 3-Headed Monsters then went on a 10-0 run to go up by 14. After a David Hawkins jumper for 3’s Company made it 42-30, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored his team’s final 9 points to close it out.
Abdul-Rauf led the 3-Headed Monsters with 19 points, adding 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Lewis, the BIG3’s leading scorer, finished with 16 points, 9 boards and 6 assists. Kwame Brown had his second double-double of the season (11 points, 12 boards). Andre Owens led 3’s Company with 13 points, while Mike Sweetney added 8 points and a team-best 9 boards. The 3-Headed Monsters are 4-1; 3’s Company is 1-4.
GHOST BALLERS 50, KILLER 3S 46
The final game of the day looked like it might be a laugher, then it became a nail-biter. There were five lead changes early, but the Killer 3s went on an 18-4 run before going into halftime with a 26-16 advantage. They maintained that 10-point lead through the start of the second half, and the lead seemed insurmountable at 40-30. That’s when the Ghost Ballers went on a 9-2 run to make it a game again. Stephen Jackson, who had a game-high 22 points for the Killer 3s, hit a 2-point free throw to make it 44-39, and then Ghost Ballers captain Mike Bibby hit the day’s one and only 4-point shot to bring his squad to within one.
The Killer 3s’ Reggie Evans, who had a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), made a layup to make it 46-43, then the Ghost Ballers scored the last seven points of the game to take the win. Ghost Ballers co-captain Ricky Davis, who finished with 15 points, scored the game-winner. Ivan Johnson led the Ghost Ballers with 20 points, adding 6 rebounds. Bibby scored 15, with a team-best 8 boards and league-best 7 assists. The Ghost Ballers improved to 3-2; the Killer 3s are 1-4.
Week 6 of the BIG3 tips off Sunday at the American Airlines center in Dallas.
