There’s nothing better than a good home stand.
For the RGV Vipers, good has been a 3-0 record for the first part of that home stand, with three more games today, Thursday and Sunday at Bert Ogden Arena. After starting the NBA G League regular season with a 1-3 mark, apparently there’s no place like home.
The Vipers defeated the Austin Spurs 112-100 to start the home stand. Then they put together 37- and 24-point blowout victories over the Salt Lake City Stars.
“We’re bringing more energy now,” said guard Trevlin Queen, who scored a career-high 31 points in the first game against Salt Lake City en route to a 130-93 victory. “We’ve been letting teams back into games. We have our feet on their neck. Now we go up 30, go up 40, go up 50”
The Vipers also find offense through their defense and lead the league in steals at 14.9 per game. Delaware is second with 11.5. Queen leads the league with 3.4 steals per contest and leads the team in scoring at 24.1 points per game. Josh Christopher, currently with the Rockets, was averaging 22.0 for the Vipers, tied for second on the team with NBA veteran and former NBA dunk champion Gerald Green.
“I’m focused and locked in,” said Queen, who is back with the Vipers after some time with the Houston Rockets this season. “Steals are something I’ve been doing my whole life. That just comes natural to me.”
Two of the three losses came by a combined five points. The Vipers fell to Austin 127-124 right before returning home and, prior to that game, lost in double overtime game to Agua Caliente 107-105.
Traditionally known for their offensive firepower, the three-time NBA G League champion Vipers are once again lighting up the scoreboard, averaging 124.3 points per game. Santa Cruz is the only other team in the league scoring 120 or more at 120.8 points per game. During Saturday’s game, they shot 23-of-43 (53%) from 3-point land and 55-of-96 (56%) overall.
Daishen Nix, averaging 19.2 per game, paced the Vipers with 30 points while Marcus Foster added 25 as RGV cruised to its third straight win.
“Daishen has matured this year, on and off the court,” second-year head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah said. “From his work ethic to understanding the game and taking care of his body. Look at him, he doesn’t look tired.”
Foster, who played at Creighton, is averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
“We didn’t start the season like we wanted to,” he said. “So to be able to do that back-to-back and win big, that’s good momentum. Now we want more consistency on the defensive end. We’re probably one of the best teams in the G League offensively but sometimes we have let up. We need to work on playing the full 48 minutes.”
The Vipers are in a three-way tie for fourth at 4-3. Agua Caliente leads the West Division with a 5-0 record. RGV plays at 7:30 tonight and Thursday at home against Santa Cruz before completing its six-game home stand at 8 p.m. Saturday against the Birmingham Squadron.
