College Article Feature: Clippers Top Stars with Last-Gasp Winner

Written by Will Naughton | Weber State University

Upon returning to the Maverik Center from their disappointing doubleheader away to the South Bay Lakers, the Salt Lake City Stars made it three NBA G League defeats in a row with a last-second 140-139 home loss to the San Diego Clippers on Feb. 2. In the wake of 20 lead changes and 11 tied scores, the Stars’ record now sits at 6-12 and they occupy 12th place in the Western conference.

In a slow start to the game, Salt Lake were behind by seven with only two points to show after three minutes of play. Once the Stars responded with a 10-2 scoring surge to take a small lead, however, the sides exchanged blows and stayed closely locked together on the scoreboard as the opening 12 minutes concluded at 31-29 for San Diego (8-10).

The visitors began to pull away in the second period, taking leads as large as 10 points through Cam Reddish’s free throw at 7:27 and Jahmyl Telfort’s three-pointer at 4:27 respectively. Amid stubborn defense from San Diego, point guard Max Abmas’ 15 second-quarter points kept the Stars in contention as the frame ended with the Clippers ahead 76-70.

SLC struggled to keep pace with San Diego’s offense in the third frame, and the southern California unit were able to continue their scoring dominance. With 7:59 remaining on the clock, Clippers center Zach Freemantle cut to the rim and dunked the ball to extend his team’s margin to a game-high 11 points.

After trailing consistently in the second half, the Stars showed life in the fourth quarter and retook the lead via guard Dereon Seabron’s running layup with 5:50 remaining. Refusing to go quietly, SLC rallied to a 139-137 advantage before San Diego guard John Poulakidas hit an off-balance fade-away three-pointer to silence the 983 Stars fans with just 1.7 seconds left.

In total, six Salt Lake players reached double-digit point tallies as Abmas (26) topped the box score while Jazz two-way John Tonje and Matthew Cleveland knocked down 20 each from the starting five. From the bench, Matthew Murrell scored a career-best 24 points and Seabron’s 19 added firepower. 

With another double-double, center Oscar Tshiebwe hit 11 points to complement his game-high 17 points while guard Sean East II provided nine assists for his teammates.

The Stars and the 10th placed Clippers will face off again at the Maverik Center and conclude their doubleheader series on Feb. 4.