Glasgow Rock & Roll to Spoil George’s Return

Manchester Giants are still looking for their first victory of 2013 as they suffered a double-digit loss, 82-92, at home to Glasgow Rocks on Friday evening. The visitors went on a 12-0 run late in the 4th quarter to blow the game-wide open as the Rocks beat the Giants for the third time this season.

Starting Fives

Manchester Giants – Bailey, J. Jones, Watts, Aliu, Eaves

Glasgow Rocks – Davis, Robinson, Ringgold, Harrison, Murray

Rocks’ player-coach Sterling Davis led all scorers with 22 points and forward Gareth Murray had a superb all-round effort with 17 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. The Rocks played an extremely unselfish brand of basketball and finished with 27 assists for their 34 made field goals as they moved the ball superbly all night and find wide open shooters all night long.

Devan Bailey led the way for the home-side with 16 points and four assist and Nick George ignited the Giants crowd with 12 points and five boards in his first game for the hosts.

The Giants made a bright start and led by nine points in the early stages after a steal and dunk by George put them up 19-10 only six minutes into the game but the visitors responded with an 8-0 run thanks to solid defensive pressure which forced the Giants into some unforced errors which the Rocks capitalised on at the other end. The home-side kept their composure and still found themselves with a slender 24-21 lead after 10 minutes of action.

Both sides discovered their shooting touch in the second period as they combined to score 49 points as the game turned into an up and down affair with both teams anxious to push the pace at every opportunity. David Aliu scored six-straight points for the Giants all from close-range to give the hosts a 31-25 lead with 7:45 left in the half.

After opening up a narrow lead the Giants appeared to lose concentration and allowed their opponents to go on another run as the Rocks scored nine unanswered points over the next two minutes to go ahead by three points when Davis drained a jumper from the baseline. The Glasgow player coach led his side by example all night as rarely forced a shot; making six of his seven attempts from inside the arc. James Jones quickly tied things up with one of his two 3-pointers on the evening but Glasgow answered immediately with a 3-pointer from the corner by their sharp-shooter EJ Harrison.

Small forward, Nick George, made his highly anticipated début for the Giants and he did not disappoint; scoring eight of his 12 point in the first half as his displayed signs of the trademark hustle that had made Giants’ coach Jeff Jones so anxious to get the seasoned veteran on-board. He converted a difficult hanging jump-shot which was soon followed by a 3-pointer from James Jones which tied the scores at 42 with just over two minutes left to go in the half. The two sides traded buckets over the next 90 seconds before a reverse layup from Aliu and David Watts converted a difficult bucket from close range to give the Giants a slender 48-46 advantage at the end of the first half.

It was more of the same in the third quarter with neither side able to gain a clear advantage as they matched each other blow-for-blow as the Giants generated several shots from close-range but were unable to make them count. At the other end the Rocks continued to attack the rim and were able to get to the free-throw line 10 times in the third period; whilst the Giants only attempted nine foul-shots the entire game.

Following a steal and transition layup by Manchester’s Callum Jones the Rocks went on a 10-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead after a 3-pointer from swingman Donald Robinson with 2:14 left in the period. Following a timeout by the hosts; Nick George re-energised the home-crowd with a magnificent move to break free from a double-team and unleashed a ferocious two-handed dunk as he was fouled by Robinson to get the crowd back into the game and fire up his side. He missed the resulting free-throw but the impact was clearly felt amongst his team mates and after a made free-throw by Davis; Aliu nailed a 3-pointer from the right-wing to make it 63-67 in the Rocks favour with one quarter left to play.

Having worked so hard to narrow the gap; the 4th quarter saw the Giants continue to press their opponents and a 3-pointer by Bailey with 7:50 remaining saw them pull to within 2-points. After Robinson was called for a double-dribble the home-side had two good looks to either tie or take the lead but they misfired from the field and off the rebound, Glasgow’s Brice Fantazia found Robinson on a fast break for a dunk to increase the visitor’s advantage to four. Bailey halved the Giants deficit with a layup following a nice assist by Watts but once again the Rocks answered with a jump-shot from the corner by forward Michael Ringgold. George found some space inside and finished with a finger roll at the cup to make it 73-75 with 5:33 remaining but the Giants went scoreless over the next three minutes as the Rocks made a decisive move with a 12-0 run to blow the game wide open. Ringgold drained a 3-pointer and then Robinson manoeuvred his way inside for back-to-back hoops as the home-crowd sensed the game was slipping away from them. Davis then drilled a jump-shot from the baseline and Fantazia nailed a 3-pointer to put the Rocks up 73-87 with 3:11 left to play in the contest.

A runner from the Giants Stefan Gill halted the visitor’s run and that was quickly followed by a layup in the open court by Bailey. But Davis knocked down a pair from the line and a 3-pointer from Murray sealed the deal for the Rocks.

The Giants next game will be against the Surrey Heat in a game that will be televised on Sky Sports. The last time these two sides met the Giants were on a six-game losing streak and ended up losing by double digits as three Heat players registered 19 points; they will be hoping to avoid a similar fate when the two teams meet again as the Giants look to get their play-off hopes back on track.

Top Scorers

Manchester Giants – Devan Bailey 16, David Watts 14, David Aliu 13
Glasgow Rocks – Sterling Davis 22, Donald Robinson 20, Gareth Murray 17

Play of the Game

Manchester Giants fans have waited a long time to see Nick George suit up for his home-town side and the 6”6 forward did not disappoint showing several signs of the trademark hustle and determination that made him such a highly scouted talent coming out of VCU. With two minutes left to play in the third quarter he used a quick dribble to spin away from a double-team and rose up from a step inside the paint before crushing a two-handed slam-dunk all over the Rocks’ Donald Robinson whilst being fouled in the process. Giants fans will hope that there’s more to come as George looks to push his team towards a playoff berth.

Game MVP: Gareth Murray – The Rocks forward had a complete game with 17 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line, two blocks and a steal. His interior passing was superb all night as he repeatedly found holes as the Giants defense collapsed on him; making several clever reads to find team-mates cutting to the basket or wide open shooter with their feet set to knock down jumpers. He rebounded well in traffic and when he was called upon to make shots he did just that.

Next Up

Manchester Giants – Surrey Heat, Friday 18th January, 19:30, Wright Robinson College
Glasgow Rocks – One Health Sheffield Sharks, Sunday 20th January, 17:00, Emirates Arena