The theme for Sunday’s NBA G League clash at Legacy Arena between the Birmingham Squadron and Texas Legends was “Sitcom Night.”
When 48 minutes were done, it was the Legends who got the last laugh in front of 1,252 fans.
With six players hitting double figures and the Squadron turning the ball over 22 times, the Dallas Mavericks’ affiliate knocked the New Orleans Pelicans’ developmental club from the unbeaten ranks with an impressive 119-105 victory.
“We jumped out 21-11, but then we had 22 turnovers for 24 points, and those are really backbreakers,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “In one of our first three games we kept our turnovers low, but it’s been an issue (in the other three) and our defense has been able to recover, but that’s certainly something that has to be better Tuesday when we play them again.”
Texas evens its Showcase Cup record to 2-2 while Birmingham stands at 3-1.
Two-way player Dereon Seabron was in the Squadron lineup for the first time in 2023-24, scoring 15 points. Still, it was an adjustment for both him and his teammates.
“That’s the G League,” Saint said. “That’s how it always is. He’s very talented and we need him, but we haven’t practiced with him. He got here (Saturday) after our practice.
“We did a light walkthrough, but he didn’t know some of the stuff, so it’s part of the G League as it normally is. We’ll get better Tuesday.”
Seabron has played five games for the Pelicans this season, averaging 2.8 points and 10.4 minutes per game for the parent club.
Trailing 86-78 going into the fourth quarter and shooting just 31 of 75 from the field, the Squadron needed to flip the script in order to stay unbeaten.
Instead, the Legends led by as many as 18 points on their way to winning the first of a two-game set.
A.J. Lawson led the victors with 24 points, followed by former UAB standout Jordan “Jelly” Walker (22), Greg Brown III (19), Joe Wieskamp (15), Theo Pinson (12) and Dexter Dennis (10).
Devon Cannady had the hot hand for the Squadron with 24 points, a team high through four games. He was six of nine from 3-point range.
Landers Nolley II had 19 points, Seabron and Jalen Crutcher each tallied 15, and Tevian Jones was good for 12.
The Squadron was out of sync for much of the first quarter, plagued by turnovers (eight) and poor outside shooting, going just one of eight from 3-point range. That – along with nine points from Brown, the Legend forward – helped Texas to a 25-23 lead.
A 3-pointer by Walker gave the visitors a 34-27 edge with under eight minutes left in the second quarter, and another trey by the former Blazer made it 37-27 moments later.
Birmingham clawed back, getting a pair of threes from Jones and another courtesy of Malcolm Hill, but the Texans always seemed to have an answer.
However, Cannady bagged four consecutive 3-pointers to aid the Squadron cause, pulling the hosts to within three at 55-52 in the waning moments.
At the break, Texas held a 57-52 advantage.
The third quarter was mostly a rinse and repeat, with Birmingham struggling to find the range and the Legends finding success from beyond the arc.
With 12 minutes remaining, Saint’s crew was down by eight, 86-78.
Trey vs. Jelly: The sidebar to the main story of the game was the reunion of Trey Jemison and Walker, who played together at UAB and helped the Blazers reach the NIT Finals last season.
This time they were on opposite sides, but got together immediately when the Squadron’s Jemison was called for goaltending on the first shot of the game – which came from Walker.
At halftime Jemison already had 11 rebounds and eight points while Walker had netted 10 points, including a pair of threes.
By the end of the night, Jemison owned 16 rebounds – the fifth highest total in Squadron history – and Walker was his side’s second leading scorer with 22 points.
“I say it all the time … Birmingham is like my second home next to New York,” Walker said. “I’m glad I was able to play well. I started off the season a little rough. It’s different from college to the professional game – very different, and way faster. But having my coaches believe in me, my teammates trust me and know how good I can be … it was just great to do it in Birmingham, where I made a name for myself.”
Walker said it was “a blessing” to get together with Jemison again, even if they were on different teams.
“We’ve had bad days together, we’ve had good days together,” Walker said. “You know, we’ve won championships together. We went to the tournament together, so we’ve been through a lot together, especially my two years at UAB.
“Just seeing him and knowing we made it this far after being with each other in college in the same locker room, it’s a blessing. It’s a testament to both of our hard work, and what we’ve done at UAB and obviously, (UAB coach) Andy Kennedy helped us tremendously and got us to this point.”
Jemison agreed.
“We got to talk the day before the game and we get to play each other again on Tuesday,” Jemison said. “I look forward to doing it again.”
Putting the work in: Before the season started, I asked Jemison what he wanted to improve about his game.
“I want to be better around the rim,” he said. “You know, I’m gonna play defense, I’m gonna hustle hard, and I’m gonna rebound.”
So far, so good.
He came into Sunday ranking third in the circuit in rebounds per game average (9.7) and had five blocks in the first quarter of his G League debut on November 10 against the Austin Spurs. Through his first three games, Jemison was seventh in the league in blocks with 2.7 per game.
After tonight’s contest, he has collected 45 rebounds and blocked nine shots.
“It’s been an amazing journey, man,” Jemison said. “I’ve learned so much about myself and my game, and it’s a learning curve. I’m learning about myself as a player and a man, and this process has been huge.”
History lesson: On this day in 1991 the Birmingham Bandits won their third consecutive game after an 0-3 start to the 1991-92 Continental Basketball Association season with a 138-120 victory over the Omaha Racers.
Michael Ansley led seven Birmingham players in double figures with a game-high 40 points, while Jim Farmer added 22.
The game was played before 1,681 fans at State Fair Arena.
Next up: The Squadron and Legends are back at Legacy Arena on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tip.