The players embraced on the sideline. The crowd roared, then spontaneously broke out in an "M-V-P" chant. One team goes home, the other advances. Don't tell me the playoffs haven't started yet. It sure seemed like it Tuesday night, as the Rio Grande Valley Vipers defeated the Reno Bighorns 135-118 to advance to the second round of the D-League playoffs. The story, as it has been all season, was Mike Harris.
Mike Harris, who is undoubtedly the D-League MVP, returned on assignment from Houston. Harris started slowly before absolutely exploding in the second half, finishing with 45 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. Yeah, you could say he made a difference.
Early on, the Bighorns ran out to an eight-point lead as the same story of the first two games was written. The Reno bigs rolled out, with Doug Thomas having a strong game, finishing with 21 points. But Rod Benson stole the show for the Bighorns yet again, and was likely the MVP of the series, despite Reno's loss, finishing Game 3 with 21 points and 11 rebounds to go with three blocks. Another dominant performance from the best player not to be called up this season.
But in the end, the Vipers brought the game back to their level. Playing on the rare playoff back-to-back, both defenses sagged, which favored RGV's perimeter attack, and alongside Harris, Antonio Anderson took advantage, slicing and dicing and hitting his trademark baseline runner. But the head of the snake, so to speak, was Will Conroy, who leveled 24 points and 6 rebounds.
The Bighorns held strong in this game until a Viper surge which left them flabbergasted. They didn't seem to be able to recover on either side, and the problems compounded.
The Vipers will face the Toros, in what will be the powerhouse matchup of the D-League playoffs. There will likely be six to seven legit NBA players in this series, and it should be a barnburner. We'll have a complete preview for you later in the week.
'Sopranos' Star Dies At 51
Obama Climate Change Strategy Coming Soon
Michael Hastings' Wife Obliterates New York Times For Dismissive Obituary
Bernanke: Fed Could Reduce Stimulus Later This Year
'Today' About To Undergo Another Overhaul
Paula Deen Allegedly Makes Racist Comments
Senate Close To Immigration Breakthrough
Darden Restaurants Continues War Against Obamacare
Abercrombie Failing To Show Fired Woman's Headscarf Hurt Sales: Report
AP CEO Levels Grave Accusations At DOJ
Microsoft Completely Walks Back Xbox One Restrictions After Gamer Backlash
Tea Partiers Boo Marco Rubio On Immigration
U.S. Tries To Save Taliban Talks
Stop Force-Feeding Gitmo Detainees, Democratic Senator Says
Is LinkedIn A Stalking Ground?
Lawmakers Float Potential Breakthrough On Student Loans Issue
Australian Women Post Breast Pics To Protest Sexism
Murkowski Backs Gay Marriage
Having Premarital Sex Now Means You're Married In India
Federal Funding For Fire Prevention Going Up In Flames
British Girl Scouts Take God Out Of Pledge, Keep Queen
Michael Hastings Challenged And Infuriated Journalists, In Washington And Afghanistan
From Child Hero To Murder Suspect
Banks May Face Stricter Mortgage Measures After Big Settlement Fail
Mobile App Allows Users To Report Racial Profiling
Ann Coulter's Terrible Advice For Winning The Latino Vote
Which Majors Have The Lowest Unemployment Rate?
HPV Vaccine Slashes Rate Of Infected Teen Girls
BREAKING: New Wildfire Prompts Evacuation Of Homes
