SHORTHANDED HERD SUFFERS SETBACK IN OVERTIME

Wisconsin Herd, the NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, lost to the Grand Rapids Gold in overtime 129-122. The Gold forced a season-high 24 turnovers by the Herd resulting in 35 points. The Gold took an early lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Herd was able to battle back at the half. The Herd continued to dominate shooting 50% from the field during the third quarter. Ultimately the Gold outscored the Herd 41-28 in the fourth quarter and overtime to secure the win.

A.J. Green guided the Herd with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists with Sandro Mamukelashvili adding 20 points and eight rebounds. Jontay Porter posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

For the fourth game in a row, the Herd allowed an opposing player to score 30 points. Adonis Arms scored 30 points followed by Jared Butler with 27 points.

A.J. Green started the game strong, scoring the first seven points for the Herd, followed by Iverson Molinar and Rob Edwards to put the Herd up 17-10 at the seven-minute mark. The Gold answered going on a 9-0 run to overtake the lead, but the high-powered duo of Sandro Mamukelashvili and Lindell Wigginton pushed the Herd ahead again for the second time 26-22. The Gold quickly rebounded to take a 37-32 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Herd turned over the ball seven times resulting in 16 points compared to zero turnovers for the Gold.

Sandro Mamukelashvili scored six consecutive points to open the second quarter for the Herd. Brandon Randolph completed a three-point play to put the Herd up 48-47. Sandro Mamukelashvili and Lindell Wigginton rocked the duo again to combine for 12 points in four minutes. Jontay Porter finished the second quarter with a put-back layup securing the lead 62-55. Sandro Mamukelashvili guided the Herd with 16 points followed by Lindell Wigginton with 11 points.

Brandon Randolph and Iverson Molinar joined forces to score nine points giving the Herd a head start of 12 points. The Gold battled back to come within four, but the Herd didn’t let up, building its lead to nine points at the four-minute mark. The Gold pushed six points, but A.J. Green answered with his own six points in the form of back-to-back threes. The Herd ended the third quarter up 94-88.

The Gold slowly crawled back to come with one point, but Jontay Porter hit a three-point shot to keep the Herd in the leading column. The Gold capitalized off of six Herd turnovers to go ahead 115-112. The two teams tied again until Rob Edwards hit a three to put the Herd up 122-119. The Gold answered with a three-point shot to tie the game with only seconds left. Sandro Mamukelashvili blocked the Gold’s last-second shot sending the game into overtime. The Gold scored seven unanswered points to win the game 129-122 in overtime.

The Herd will play the second game of the back-to-back series in Grand Rapids tomorrow (Nov. 30) with tip-off set for 6:00 p.m. CST.