The opening act of the third quarter for the Austin Spurs was not the most idealistic start that head coach Jacob Chance wanted to see from his team against the defending G League Champions, the Stockton Kings.
Austin struggled on both ends of the court in the third and found a Stockton team that captured fire seemingly out of nowhere, swiftly jumping up to a 19-point lead at one point in the quarter. The Spurs were able to mitigate the damage, closing on their deficit by 11 points by the end of the period.
Led by guard Kyle Mangas, who was on the floor for almost the entire night, Austin exploded for 40 points in the final quarter to make it a one-possession game late. In the end, the Kings escaped the Spurs for the third time this season, 106-104, Sunday evening at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
“We made too many mistakes in the third quarter. … proud of how we fought down the fourth quarter,” Chance said. “But we shouldn’t have put ourselves in that spot to start with.”
In the three games between the two teams this season, the winning margin has been at most by two possessions, leaving very little room for mistakes.
Austin maintained its composure in the fourth quarter, making the game interesting down the stretch. The Spurs scored nine points in the final minute of the game to pull within one possession.
“Today was like a playoff game, intense, each possession matters,” Mangas said. “Game slows down at some points a little bit more — that’s playoff basketball at the pro level.”
Spurs guard Elfrid Payton, the team’s assist leader, connected with Mangas pulling up outside the arch for a 25-foot three-pointer to open up the late-game rally.
On the next possession, Payton fed the ball to Mangas once again, promptly driving to the rim for two and drawing the foul for the and-one.
“Teammates found me a lot of time, so I was trying to play off that, get to the rim, play off two feet, be patient, that’s who I am as a player,” Mangas said.
Austin, attempting to slow the game down, began to draw fouls. Stockton guard Jon Elmore picked up a whistle but missed both attempts at the line, giving the Spurs one three-pointer to tie the game up with 15 seconds.
The Kings were able to box up Payton and Mangas near the baseline, disrupting the set play and forcing Mangas to make a tough shot, missing the game-tying three-pointer with eight seconds left.
“A lot of respect for them as a team. … We played them a bunch of times the past year or so, and they’ve had our number,” Mangas said. “It’s always competitive. I feel like both teams come out with an edge, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them again.”
Mangas closed out his impressive performance with 28 points, six rebounds and two assists. Payton, who fed Mangas the ball most of the night, ended with two points and a team-leading eight assists.
Ingram, a double-double machine for the majority of the season, ended with 15 points and 13 rebounds, another impressive performance for the two-way player.
Austin will face the College Park Skyhawks on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga.
