The Windy City Bulls finally got to wear their own unforms on Tuesday.
And unfortunately for the homestanding Birmingham Squadron, this time they were dressed for success.
Quenton Jackson scored 40 points and five of his teammates managed double figures as the Chicago Bulls’ G League affiliate downed the New Orleans Pelicans farmhands, 117-104, at Legacy Arena.
The Bulls were forced to don Birmingham training gear on Sunday because their regular unis weren’t loaded onto the flight, and lost that clash, 130-127. They had better luck in the rematch wearing traditional road threads.
Windy City blew open a tight game by capitalizing on Squadron turnovers and finding success from inside and outside, outscoring Birmingham 28-21 in the fourth quarter and leading by as many as 18.
“Jodie Meeks and Joe Barrer, our assistants, talked to the team yesterday and told them, ‘Look, their two-ways are gone and that means other guys are going to get more opportunities and we have to be ready,’” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “I think maybe we took it for granted. I thought we played hard to start the game. We missed shots early, but were doing things we wanted to do. The fourth quarter … we kinda let go of the rope and that’s something that’s gonna be addressed tomorrow.”
Jalen Crutcher paced the Squad with 21 points, followed by Devin Cannady (19), Izaiah Brockington (15), Landers Nolley II (15) and Dereon Seabron (13).
Aside from Jackson’s big night, Evan Gilyard finished with 16 points, Scottie Lindsey and Chris Clemons each had 13, and Ben Coupet Jr. tallied 11.
Lacey James registered the double-double for the winners with 10 points and 11 boards.
The Bulls had 19 second chance points to just four for Saint’s crew.
With the loss the Squadron (7-7) slips to ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Windy City (4-9) remains last in the 16-team group.
Birmingham struggled to score early, falling behind 15-6 before finally climbing back into the hunt. By the end of the opening period the Squadron had already gotten 14 points from Crutcher, but Lindsey and Jackson had hot hands for the visitors – combining for 18 points – and helped Windy City take a 34-33 lead into the second quarter.
Things stayed tight over the next 12 minutes, with Birmingham tying the game for the first time at 7:14 thanks to a Tevian Jones trey. The home team took its first lead of the night at the 2:20 mark on a Cannady shot from beyond the arc, making it 53-51, Squadron.
Very little separated the teams the balance of the first half, and Windy City went to the locker room on top, 56-55.
Brockington picked up his fifth personal foul at 9:45 of the third, limiting his action the rest of the way. Even so, Birmingham managed to lead by as many as six before the Bulls charged back, turning the frame into mostly a back-and-forth affair.
Windy City made a late run in the final two minutes, though, and held an 89-83 advantage with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
The ran away with it from there.
Let it fly: Win or lose, no one can accuse Birmingham of playing boring basketball.
Going onto tonight’s game, the Squadron ranked first in the league in 3-pointers made (214) and 3-point percentage (40.2), second in points per game (121.1) and second in free throw percentage (80.1).
While the team normally takes roughly 40 3-point attempts per game, Saint said he’d like to see that number rise.
“I told our team from the beginning we need to shoot 40-plus threes, and now I’m doubling down on that and saying we need to try for 50 a game,” Saint said Sunday. “Threes are worth more than twos, so if we can hit more, it evens out when the other team scores more in the paint.”
Birmingham put up just 38 long rangers on Tuesday, hitting only 12.
On the move again: Former Squadron standout Trey Jemison signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. He started all 25 games for Birmingham, averaging 10.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 blocks in 31.6 minutes while shooting 56.8 percent from the field. He made two appearances for the Washington Wizards after signing a 10-day contract with that club on Jan. 20.
OTD in 1949: The Birmingham Steelers of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated the Laurel Oilers, 62-60, at the Municipal Auditorium. It was a snowy day in the Magic City, but 250 fans still showed up to cheer on the local team.
Johnny Murphy led the winners with 22 points, while Joe Parker added 15 and Bob Murphy finished with 11.
OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association lost to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, 133-120, for their sixth consecutive road defeat.
Jim Farmer and Irving Thomas each scored 20 points for the Bandits.
Corey Gaines led the winners with 28 points.
The Skyforce, incidentally, is the longest-running minor league basketball team in the United States. It was founded in 1989 as a member of the CBA, joined the International Basketball Association for one season (2000-01), and after a five-year hiatus was reformed as an NBA D-League (now G League) club in 2006.
Next up: The Squadron takes a quick road trip to the Atlanta suburbs on Thursday to battle the Eastern Conference-leading College Park Skyhawks at Gateway Center Arena.
Gametime is set for 6 p.m.