The Los Angeles D-Fenders defeated the Bakersfield Jam 124-103, a franchise record 13th consecutive home win that pushed their record to 23-16, good for second in the Western Conference as the team continues to build momentum as the playoffs approach.
Los Angeles was led by their highscoring back-court duo of reigning D-League player of the month Vander Blue (41 points on 22 shots) and the recently returned Jabari Brown, who scored 26 points on 17 shots in his return from China.
D-Fenders head coach Casey Owens slid 6'7 forward Ryan Gomes (21 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists) down to center in the fourth quarter to allow Los Angeles to outscore Bakersfield 34-15 in the period as they pulled away behind the D-League's version of the Golden State Warriors' "lineup of death."
In attendance for the win was Los Angeles Lakers' guard Jordan Clarkson, and this time he was there on purpose. After he showed up to the facility to shoot last week without checking if the D-Fenders were playing first, this time Clarkson attended the game intentionally to support his former college teammate Brown:
JC supporting the @DFenders and recently signed @Bari_BrownIDF tonight in El Segundo pic.twitter.com/rOCQp7e6YC
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 4, 2016
.@tinakap interviewing @JClark5on on ESPNU. pic.twitter.com/gpqHgOf4Ag
— D-Fend The Hoop (@DFendTheHoop) March 4, 2016
Good to see family hoop again today @Bari_BrownIDF #easymoney
— Jordan Clarkson (@JClark5on) March 4, 2016
With Clarkson and Kobe Bryant both banged up and questionable for the Lakers' Friday game against the Atlanta Hawks, and Lou Williams set to miss the next week, the Lakers would do well to take a look in their own practice facility if they end up searching for stopgap bench depth.
Both Brown and Blue are capable scorers, and might very well be the best possible options on the market right now if the Lakers decide they need guards to sop up minutes should Bryant or Clarkson miss extended time, or if Williams' hamstring proves more troublesome than initially thought.
All stats per dleague.nba.com. You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.