EDINBURG — The Rio Grande Valley Vipers got off to a scorching-hot start to the 2021 NBA G League Season with a 127-117 win over the Austin Spurs on Friday night at Bert Ogden Arena.
“The guys came out and played well. The energy from the crowd was unbelievable,” RGV Vipers head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah said. “Nothing like playing in Bert Ogden (Arena), so I’m just glad to be back, and it’s even better to get a win. To see the fans in the stands, playing back in Bert Ogden (Arena) was phenomenal.”
The Vipers set the tone right out of the gate with a 41-point first quarter, dominating the Spurs on both ends of the floor.
“It’s the confidence level we have in each other. We play very unselfish basketball,” guard Trevelin Queen said. “We all have our roles, and we all played our role to a certain extent and did it at a very high level today, especially in the first quarter. We came out with energy, we came out popping, and we had faith in each other, so I feel like the unselfishness really helped us out a lot.”
Just before the first-half buzzer, point guard Christian Vital dribbled up court, attracted two defenders near the 3-point line and watched the lane part like the Red Sea. He promptly found a slashing Tyler Bey for an emphatic two-hand slam, which increased the Vipers’ lead to 20.
A halfcourt 3 off the back of the rim and in by Queen as the shot clock expired midway through the fourth quarter was the dagger through the Spurs’ heart.
RGV’s Garrison Mathews led all scorers with 28 points on 5-of-13 shooting from deep, while Queen added 20 points, five assists and three steals.
Austin was led by a team-high 17 points from Jaylen Morris and 14 from rookie first round draft pick Joshua Primo.
Although the Spurs had a size advantage on the Vipers, RGV used tenacity to compete on the boards to win the rebounding battle 50-40, including 19-10 in offensive rebounds. Anthony Lamb led the Vipers with 10 boards while Bey added nine.
“They did a great job attacking the glass, crashing, and we got points off of those second chance opportunities, so it was phenomenal,” Abdelfattah said.
The Vipers are back in action at 6 p.m. Wednesday against the Greensboro Swarm at Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse.
