Another Elam Ending, another happy ending for the Birmingham Squadron.
Landers Nolley II drained a 3-pointer on the last shot of overtime to lift the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate to a thrilling 130-127 victory over the Windy City Bulls on Sunday with 1,291 fans at Legacy Arena looking on.
Birmingham is now 3-0 all-time in overtime contests, which are played to a target score (Elam Ending) of seven points more than the tally at the end of regulation.
With both the Squadron and the Chicago Bulls’ farm club knotted at 122 after four quarters, Devin Cannady hit a 3-pointer and field goal before Nolley provided the dagger at the end.
“The (Elam Ending) is something fresh and new, and we’re the only league that does it,” Cannady said. “We picked it up from The Basketball Tournament, TBT, and it can be a three-possession game, which I think it was for us.
“It doesn’t extend the game too much, so you’ve got to lock in, and every shot matters. Obviously, we came out on the right side of this tonight.”
Izaiah Brockington led the winners with a game-high 25 points, followed by Nolley and Dereon Seabron with 18 points apiece.
Cannady closed the afternoon of free basketball with 17 points, Jalen Crutcher added 16, two-way player Matt Ryan finished with 14, and Tevian Jones added 11.
Adama Sanogo had the double-double for Windy City with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Onuralp Bitim scored 21 points, Henri Drell and Chris Clemons each hit for 19, Quenton Jackson pumped in 17 and Jalen Harris got 10.
“That was a wild ride,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “Matt’s leaving us and heading back to the Pelicans, but I appreciate his work ethic. He came in and worked at 100 percent speed and had a great workout. He’s a really good example for our guys to see.
“Matt, Dereon, and Ike Anibogu are all on a minutes restriction. And with Malcolm (Hill) getting called up and Trey (Jemison) getting called up and Kira (Lewis) getting traded … there’s a lot of moving pieces. We did some things tonight I never expected we’d have to do.”
The clash was the only NBA G League game on the schedule, meaning the winner got to move up in the standings.
And once it was done, Birmingham was just a half game out of playoff position.
Ther Squadron joins the Motor City Cruise with a 7-6 record, putting Saint’s charges just behind the Grand Rapids Gold (7-5) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (3-9), on the other hand, strengthened their grip on the cellar.
The top six teams in each conference earn a spot in the win-or-go-home playoffs.
Birmingham grabbed a 28-26 lead after a fast-paced first quarter, with Brockington and Crutcher leading the charge with seven points each, and Jones coming off the bench to score five.
The Squadron was four-of-seven from beyond the arc.
Things remained tight in the second as Drell, Bitim and Sanogo stepped up for Windy City with dead-eye shooting, helping the Bulls hold a slight advantage throughout much of the period.
But Birmingham continued its success from long range – Ryan hit back-to-back 3-pointers – and sank timely free throws, leading to a 62-60 edge at halftime.
Ryan led all scorers at the break with 14 points.
For portions of the third quarter, it appeared the goal had a lid on it when the Squadron put up shots; great looks went unrewarded on several trips down the court.
But Cannady went on a scoring binge late in the frame – nailing three 3-pointers in a row – and sparked a Birmingham surge.
After 36 minutes, the Squadron led, 89-86.
It was more of the same in the fourth, with Birmingham leading by five late before falling behind by one, going up by two, and Drell forcing overtime with a putback.
That set the stage for an untimed O.T. period that ended with a Nolley trey – and a Birmingham victory.
“I talk about this being a connected unit, and one of the plays I drew up at the end to attack Sanogo, Galen Robinson – who didn’t even play tonight – came up with it,” Saint said. “He talked to the assistants, the assistants told me, and that was the play Landers scored on.
“That’s a true team. We have a guy who didn’t even play, and still affected the game.”
Moving up again: Hill has been phenomenal for the Squadron, averaging 24.4 points in 11 regular season appearances and pumping in 19.3 points during the Showcase Cup portion of the 2023-24 slate.
His hot-shooting was good enough to earn G League Player of the Week honors but – much more importantly – his consistent play got him a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, which went into effect on Saturday.
The small forward has spent time with the Atlanta Hawks as well as the Chicago Bulls, and has also played internationally.
He joins Jemison as Birmingham’s second call-up this year.
Borrowed clothes: The Bulls made it to Birmingham from Chicago just fine.
Their uniforms?
That was a different story.
The Windy City’s road unis failed to arrive in the Magic City, so the team was forced to wear the Squadron’s practice attire for Sunday’s game. Those unis feature white tops with black numbers and G League branding, and black shorts.
The Bulls are expected to back in their normal threads for Tuesday’s rematch.
OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Vulcans lost to the Montgomery Rebels, 64-53, in a Southern Professional Basketball League game at the National Guard Armory.
Steve Kontos paced the Vulcans with 16 points, while Shag Hawkins added 12.
Montgomery’s Al Grenert was high scorer with 20 points and two other Rebels reached double figures in the victory.
OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association fell to the Oklahoma City Calvary, 105-101, in front of 3,111 fans at the Myriad Arena.
Although Skeeter Henry had 26 points for Birmingham, the hosts got a 24-point outing from Steve Burtt while Dave Popson registered the double-double (23 points, 13 rebounds).
OTD in 2023: The Squadron defeated the Maine Celtics, 113-106, with 2,417 fans looking on at the Portland Exhibition Center.
Dereon Seabron led the charge with 27 points, followed by James Kelly (20), Feron Hunt (18), Javonte Smart (13) and Jordan Swing (11).
Kelly also pulled down 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Next up: The Squadron and Bulls complete their two-game set on Tuesday at Legacy Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.