The G League Ignite held off the Jeremy Lin-led Santa Cruz Warriors, 109-104, to begin their NBA G League campaign inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Former NBA guard Jarrett Jack scored 23 points and Brandon Ashley had 17 points and nine rebounds as the Ignite led by 20 points in the second half before cutting short in the Warriors’ comeback try late in the fourth.
Jonathan Kuminga had 19 points and four rebounds, Daishen Nix put up 12 points and Fil-American Jalen Green scored nine of his 11 points in the second half to also play key roles for the Brian Shaw-coached Ignite.
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The Ignite won their first G League bubble game sans Kai Sotto, who decided to skip the early part of the season to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Sotto, however, is still waiting to finish his quarantine period before he can join Gilas either in training or in Doha for the two matches against South Korea and one opposite Indonesia.
Lin, who nine years ago made a name for himself with a series of outstanding games while with the New York Knicks, finished with 18 points for Santa Cruz.