WISCONSIN HERD CUTS DOWN LONG ISLAND NETS IN FIRST REGULAR SEASON GAME

The Wisconsin Herd, NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, beat the Long Island Nets 114 – 82. The Herd dominated defensively keeping the Nets to a season-low 82 points while also cashing in offensively at 50.6% shooting from the field.

Six Herd players ended the night in double-digit scoring while three players posted a double-double. Wenyen Gabriel propelled the Herd with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. TyTy Washington Jr. followed with 16 points and 10 assists while Marques Bolden added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Long Island Nets’ top scorer was Kyler Edwards with 17 points followed by Kennedy Chandler with 16 points.

The Long Island Nets scored the first points of the game, but the Herd answered with back-to-back baskets to take the edge. The Nets tied the game twice before going ahead 9-8 at the six-minute mark. The teams traded the lead five times before the Herd scored two unanswered baskets to secure the advantage. Wisconsin closed out the quarter with a 7-0 run to go up 29 – 19 at the end of the first. Weyen Gabriel posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter.

The Herd opened the second quarter with 14 uninterrupted points powered by Stevie Thompson Jr. with 11. The Herd pushed ahead to a 16-point upper hand with seven minutes remaining in the half. Long Island chimed in with two consecutive baskets but a free throw by Kihei Clark kept the Herd above by 22 points. The teams traded baskets until the Nets outscored the Herd by four points in the last three minutes of the half. Wisconsin held a 60-45-point advantage at the half. The Herd shot 6-11 (54.5%) from beyond the arc in the first half.

Wisconsin pushed ahead to a 23-point edge by outscoring the Nets 16-8 at the beginning of the third quarter. The Herd continued to dominate keeping the Nets to zero points for the next four minutes while also increasing the lead to nearly 30 points. The Nets ended their scoring drought with back-to-back baskets in a minute. Stevie Thompson Jr. hit one basket before Long Island scored the next six points to close out the third quarter. The Herd led 83-63 at the conclusion.

The teams swapped baskets to start the fourth quarter, but the Herd continued to control the game going ahead by 25 points at the seven-minute mark. The Nets hit three baskets before entering a dry spell for two minutes while the Herd moved forward to a 31-point advantage. Wisconsin secured the win ending the game 114 – 82.

The Wisconsin Herd will play against Raptors 905 on Saturday, December 30 with tip-off set for 1:00 p.m. CST.

--Wisconsin Herd--