The Memphis Hustle (1-3) were defeated on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 129-127 by the Oklahoma City Blue (3-1) in the second of two games in Oklahoma City.
On assignment from the Memphis Grizzlies, Jake LaRavia scored 31 points and five steals. Jason Preston notched his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists to go with three steals. Adonis Arms tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Two-way transfer GG Jackson II added 11 points and three steals.
Hunter Maldonado led the Blue with 26 points and six assists. KJ Williams finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. Keyontae Johnson added 19 points and nine rebounds. On assignment from the Thunder, Ousmane Dieng tallied 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
After trailing by four at halftime, the Hustle opened the second half on a 29-14 run to take an 11-point lead in the third quarter. The Hustle pushed their lead to as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, before a 24-9 run by the Blue tied the game at 113. Arms gave the Hustle a one-point lead with a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining, but Williams gave the Blue the win with a 30-foot 3-pointer as time expired.
The Hustle scored 35 points off 23 Blue turnovers and scored 58 points in the paint. The Hustle shot 53.6 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Blue shot 43.2 percent from distance and outrebounded the Hustle 43-35.
The Hustle’s road trip will conclude with a matchup against the Osceola Magic on Friday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. CT at Silver Spurs Arena.
