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Sioux Falls Skyforce takes down the NBA G League Ignite 120 to 116

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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It was a tough battle but ultimately, the G League Ignite wasn't able to make it a three-peat as they fell to the Sioux Falls Skyforce 120 to 116 at The Dollar Loan Center Wednesday night.

The Ignite now fall to a record of 11 wins and 17 losses and are sixth in the West Division standings.

There was plenty of action in front of 2,411 fans as the first quarter as the lead changed hands several times. However, it was the Ignite who took a 28 to 21 lead. They were able to hold onto the lead going into halftime 58-55.

John Jenkins and London Johnson are leading scoring for the Ignite going into halftime with a combined 23 points. Ignite has also had solid performances off the bench from forward Babacar Sane and Pooh Jeter who have seven points each.

In the third quarter, Sioux Falls rallied and started with a seven-point run to take a 62 to 60 lead. They were led by Mychal Mulder and Orlando Robinson. However, the Ignite rallied back with a six-point run of their own to go up 66-62.

With 5:28 in the third quarter, forward Jamal Cain let the Skyforce go ahead after hitting a two-pointer and drawing the foul. He then made the shot to make it 73-72. It was back and forth with John Jenkins hitting making a shot to tie the game at 75 with 4:18 in the quarter. With 2:31 in the third, the Skyforce then went on a 11 to three scoring run to go up 83-75 prompting an Ignite timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Sioux Falls started to pull away even more. Shareef O'Neal got the first two points out of the timeout. However, the Skyforce then went on to put eight points on the board making the score 91-79 with 55.9 in the quarter. The Ignite battled back to make it 95-86 heading to the fourth quarter.

With 9:09 left in the game, Ignite still trailed the Skyforce 100-91. The squad made some headway by then going on a six-point run led by a dunk from Sidy Cissoko and baskets from Leonard Miller and Eric Mika. That caused Sioux Falls to call a timeout. The Ignite got within one after Miller stole the ball and passed it to Cissoko to score making it 100-99 with 6:43 left to go.

With 6:15 left in the game, Miller hit a three to tie the game at 102. Foul trouble and turnovers led to Sioux Falls pulling ahead 112-104. With 3:57 on the clock, the Skyforce called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, it was a fierce battle but Sioux Falls stayed ahead 116-111 with 1:51 to go. A three-pointer from John Jenkins put the Ignite in striking distance with less than a minute to go and the score standing at 116-114.

That's when a foul was called on Sioux Falls sending Cissoko to the line with just 47.7 seconds left in the game. However, he missed both shots. The Skyforce added another two points with a shot from Jamal Cain to make it a two possession game with 29.6 seconds on the clock. It was Ignite's ball. They missed a shot before a foul was called on Sioux Falls sending Mika to the line. He made both shots making it 118-116. The Ignite got off another couple of shots but it wasn't enough to win as they ultimately fell 120 to 116.

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Nick Walters

Nick Walters

Senior Sports Reporter

Alex Eschelman

Alex Eschelman

Sports Multimedia Journalist

Rochelle Richards

Rochelle Richards, senior sports producer

Rochelle Richards

Senior Sports Producer