Santa Cruz Warriors Stomp Mad Ants; Damian Jones Recalled
Santa Cruz Warriors beat Fort Wayne Mad Ants 144-123 at Kaiser Permanente Arena on Friday. Damian Jones was recalled to the Golden State Warriors.
The Santa Cruz Warriors (24-17) extended their winning streak to five consecutive games after their 144-123 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (23-17) on Friday. Santa Cruz is now just 0.5 games back behind the Sioux Falls Skyforce (25-17), who currently occupy the fourth and final playoff seed in the NBA D-League Western Conference.
The Sea Dubs will leave home to go on a two-game road trip. Their first stop will be the Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday, March 12 to face the Iowa Energy, 2:00 p.m. PDT tip-off. Santa Cruz will then travel to the Cox Convention Center on Tuesday, March 14 to visit the Oklahoma City Blue for a 5:00 p.m. PDT matchup.
They’ll return home to Surf City on Friday, March 17 to host back-to-back games against the Texas Legends. Each of those games will tip off at 7:00 p.m. PDT.
Santa Cruz had five players hit the 20-point mark on Friday against Fort Wayne, led by Phil Pressey‘s 26 points (10-18 FG, 6-13 3P), seven rebounds, nine assists and two blocks. Jabari Brown had his best game in a Santa Cruz uniform in just his second game for the team, finishing with 24 points (7-19 FG, 9-9 FT) and five boards.
LaDontae Henton notched a double-double with 20 points (8-11 FG, 4-7 3P) and 10 rebounds to go with his three assists and three blocks. Cleanthony Early dropped in 20 points and three blocks on 9-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 shooting from behind the arc, while Elgin Cook posted 20 points (7-11 FG) in his first game back from injury.
James Southerland added 12 points (5-12 FG) and six rebounds.
DAMIAN JONES WATCH:
Damian Jones notably wasn’t in Santa Cruz on Friday despite being listed active on the roster. Fans can expect the 7-foot center to be officially called back up to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, and he will more than likely be in uniform against the San Antonio Spurs.
Golden State Warriors beat writer Anthony Slater of Bay Area News Group/San Jose Mercury News was of the first to report via Twitter that Dubs head coach Steve Kerr plans to rest Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala on Saturday against San Antonio.
Next: Santa Cruz Warriors Beat Best in the D-League
Jones’ latest D-League assignment began on Feb. 24 against the Reno Bighorns, and he was expected to remain with Surf City for the last 14 games of the D-League regular season.
However, due to how poorly Golden State has played over this tough road stretch (in conjunction with the debilitating knee injury to Kevin Durant), it’s clear that the Warriors core could very much use the time off to rest and regroup. Recalling Jones solidifies the roster at 10 active players heading into San Antonio.
News of Jones being recalled was confirmed on Soundcloud by Santa Cruz Warriors broadcaster Kevin Danna, as well as the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s Andrew Matheson (via Santa Cruz Warriors head coach Casey Hill).