LAKELAND BUZZER BEATER DOWNS WINDY CITY 117-116

[caption id="attachment_2552" align="aligncenter" width="650"] HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL - NOVEMBER 10[/caption]

The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, fell to the Lakeland Magic 117-116 on Tuesday night in Lakeland, Florida.

Four players scored in double figures for Windy City led by Antonio Blakeney who poured in a game-high 40 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for the first double-double of his career. Brandon Wood scored 24, while Jaylen Johnson and Karrington Ward tallied career highs in points. Johnson registered his third double-double of the season with a 23-point (10-13 FGs), 11 rebound performance and Ward added 16.

The Magic were efficient to begin the game storming out to a 14-4 lead within the first four minutes of the contest. Lakeland made four of its first five shots from the field including three triples. The Bulls responded with a 7-0 run to trim the lead to five with 4:55 remaining in the opening quarter. Antonio Blakeney was responsible for half of the offensive output as he kept the Bulls in it with 11 first quarter points. Despite turning the ball over five times and trailing by as many as 12, Windy City cut the deficit to six, 28-22 at the end of the first stanza.

Adreian Payne led the way for the Magic with a team-high 26 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Rodney Purvis and Jamel Artis each added 22, while Troy Caupain registered a triple-double 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. Khem Birch pitched in with 17 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

Lakeland began the second quarter in a similar fashion to the first. They extended the lead to 12 on an 11-5 run to start the period. Windy City couldn’t gather much momentum as they shot 38 percent from the floor in the quarter. The Bulls hung around, but Lakeland extended its six-point first quarter lead and led by 11, 57-46 at the intermission.

After trailing by 16, their largest deficit of the night, Windy City made a run. Wood and Blakeney took control combining for 25 of the team’s 33 third-quarter points. The Windy City run began late in the period with an 8-4 run to cut the lead to 11 forcing a Lakeland timeout. The Bulls used the final 2:55 to trim the lead further, but the Magic took a six-point lead into the final 12 minutes.

Trailing 85-79 to open the fourth quarter, Karrington Ward knocked down two triples to begin the period to tie the game at 85. Brandon Wood gave the Bulls their first lead of the night on a jumper with just under 11 minutes to play left in the contest. Prior to that basket, Lakeland led for the first 37 minutes of the game. Windy City grabbed a double-digit lead of their own and led 112-102 with 2:34 remaining in the contest. The Magic, however, would not go away despite trailing by six with under a minute left. Caupain scored on a layup to make it a one-possession game with 14.1 seconds on the clock. On the final play of the game, Rodney Purvis drained a three-point shot at the buzzer to give Lakeland the one-point win and their tenth victory of the season.

The Bulls have a couple days off as the team heads north to continue this two-game road swing against the Canton Charge.

Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team on Twitter (@WindyCityBulls) or visiting (WindyCityBulls.com). Full season membership, group, and single tickets for the 2017-18 Windy City Bulls season are on sale now. For all ticket information and full season schedule, visit WindyCityBulls.com.