VIPERS CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT WITH VICTORY OVER NETS

VIPERS CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT WITH VICTORY OVER NETS

Edinburg, Texas (March 25, 2023) – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (18-14), the NBA G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, clinched a playoff spot after defeating the Long Island Nets (23-9) 135-116 on Saturday night at Bert Ogden Arena. 

Long Island took over the first three minutes of the opening quarter as the team created a 10-point gap between both teams. At the 9:27 mark, Long Island led 14-4. The Vipers quickly turned things around as the team went on a 12-2 run and tied the game 16-16 with 7:26 left. The back-and-forth battle for the lead began after that as the lead was exchanged 10 times between both teams, but neither team could fully pull away which resulted in a 38-38 tie at the end of the first. 

The Nets went into the second quarter hot as the team pulled away. With 6:03 to go, the team had a 57-47 advantage over the Vipers. Long Island continued with the lead until the Vipers came from behind and tied the game 69-69 with just 40.3 seconds to go, but the Nets went on to score one more basket which sent the game into halftime with a 71-69 advantage for the visiting team. 

RGV opened up the third quarter by going on a 7-0 run which allowed the team to jump to a 76-71 lead with 10:25 to go. The Nets then scored one more basket to make the score 76-74, but after that RGV went on 12-0 run and set the score at 88-74 with less than seven minutes to go in the quarter. The Vipers continued to dominate the third quarter and sent the game into the fourth with a 104-93 lead. 

During the fourth quarter the Vipers dominated and earned the team a 135-116 victory which secured the team with a playoff spot. 

Houston Rockets assignment TyTy Washington Jr. led the Vipers with 35 points. Houston Rockets Two-Way players Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins scored 24 and 23 points, respectively. Jalen Lecque scored 14 points from off the bench. Jarrett Culver contributed 13 points. Ray Spalding scored 12 points. Trhae Mitchell obtained 10 rebounds. 

The Vipers will travel to El Segundo, Calif. to take on the third-seeded South Bay Lakers on Wednesday, March 29 at UCLA Health Training Center. Tip-off is still to be determined. For more information visit www.rgvipers.com.