Blakeney's career best 46 points paces Windy City Bulls
The Windy City Bulls, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, set numerous franchise records en route to a 145-107 win over the Maine Red Claws on Wednesday morning at Sears Centre Arena. The 145 points set a franchise record for most points scored in a single game and the 38-point margin of victory is also a franchise high.
Antonio Blakeney paced the Bulls with a career-high, and franchise record 46 points on 16-of-24 shooting. The previous franchise high was 44, which he scored on November 11 against the Oklahoma City Blue. He added eight rebounds and seven assists in three-quarters of play and is the fourth player this season to score 40 or more points against the Red Claws.
Six other players had double-digit scoring efforts for Windy City led by Tyler Harris who tallied 19 points and seven rebounds. In his Windy City debut, Daniel Ochefu scored a career-high 16 points and added six rebounds, while Kay Felder added 15 points of his own. Karrington Ward scored 14 and Ryan Arcidiacono posted a 13-point, seven assist performance. The Bulls shot 52 percent from the floor and are now 4-0 when they shoot 50 percent or above from the field.
Maine scored the first points of the contest and led 2-0, but that is the only time they would lead in the game. Windy City responded with 15-4 run, including an 8-0 personal run by Blakeney. The Bulls led by as many as 19 points in the opening quarter and turned seven Red Claws turnovers into 10 points. Windy City shot 48 percent from the field and led 39-20 at the end of the first.
The Red Claws were without the services of one of their two-way players, Jabari Bird, who was not available. Devin Williams also missed Wednesday's contest with an injury. Kadeem Allen led the charge with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Trey Davis scored 16, while Jonathan Holmes registered a 14-point, 10 rebound double-double. L.J. Peak added 14 points of his own and Daniel Dixon pitched in with 13.
Maine began the second quarter on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to 10, but couldn't draw closer. Following a timeout, the Bulls went on a run of their own and led by 20 with under two minutes left to play in the half. Windy City scored a season-high 72 points in the first half and led by 24 at intermission. The previous high for points in the first half was 60, which they've scored twice this season.
The Bulls picked up where they left off and tallied their most impressive quarter in the third. Windy City shot a season-high 72 percent in the quarter and scored 44 points, which is their highest output for any quarter this season. Blakeney scored 19 of his 46 points in the period and made eight of nine shots. At one point, the Bulls led by 39 and carried a 116-80 lead into the fourth quarter.
With a sizable lead, Blakeney, Felder and Harris did not play in the final 12 minutes. The Bulls, however, extended their lead to 44, which was the largest of the afternoon. Brandon Wood scored 12 points in the final quarter to seal Windy City's second consecutive win.
Windy City returns to action this Friday with a game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers who are currently on an 11-game win streak.