Hustle stop Clippers to open weekend series
The Memphis Hustle defeated the Agua Caliente Clippers 116-104 on Saturday, March 12 at Toyota Arena behind a trio of 20-point scorers.
Damien Jefferson led the way with a career high 22 points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench for Memphis. Ben Moore posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-9 shooting from the field. Santi Aldama continued his strong road trip with 21 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block. Ahmad Caver added 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
Nate Darling scored a team-high 18 points with five rebounds and four assists for the Clippers. George King tallied 14 points, five assists and four rebounds. Shevon Thompson totaled 14 points and five rebounds.
The Hustle stretched its lead to 14 points, 104-90, with 9:54 to play after a basket from EJ Onu. The Clippers used a quick 8-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Darling, to cut the lead to 104-98. However, Memphis immediately answered with an 8-0 run of their own and never looked back. Memphis never trailed by less than eight points the remainder of the way.
Memphis turned the ball over 12 times, leading to 24 points on the other end for Agua Caliente, but the Hustle outscored the Clippers 28-11 in second chance points on a season high 19 offensive rebounds.
The Clippers scored the first nine points of the game before the Hustle ripped off a 39-21 scoring advantage to take a 39-30 lead early in the second quarter. Memphis stretched the lead to 12 points at halftime, 67-55, behind 15 points from Aldama. King paced the Clippers with all 14 of his points in the first half. Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter, but Memphis settled for a 97-85 lead heading into the final quarter.
