The last time we were at the Entertainment and Sports Arena, we celebrated the Mystics clinching the WNBA championship. The spirit of victory was still in the building as the GoGo notched their first win of the season over the Grand Rapids Drive, 109-98.
The home team relied on hot shooting as they went 52.1% from the field and 44.1% from three point range.
Go-Go point guard Chris Chiozza got out of the gates slowly, but if you’ve ever seen him play you know it doesn’t take much for him to get going. He scored all 20 of his points in the second half and also added seven rebounds and five assists. Admiral Schofield (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Justin Robinson (16 points, six assists, four rebounds), who recently spent time with the Washington Wizards, had good showings as well. No one would be surprised if they aren’t around for long as they both showed promise at the next level in their brief tenure with the Wizards to start the season.
Jalen Jones scored a game high 30 points with some tough finishes inside and nifty footwork around the basket. Jones must have been really amped to be in front of the home crowd because with 9:09 to go in the third quarter, he threw down a dunk that knocked the Go-Go’s basket off kilter and caused a substantial delay in the game.
After the arena staff got the hoop situated and a five minute warm up period to get the players loose again, the GoGo continued to shoot the ball well and keep the pressure on the Drive en route to an 11 point win.
A couple of bright spots for the Drive: Sekou Doumbouya had 18 points in 17 minutes as he showed glimpses of why the Pistons took him with their first round pick in June. Detroit hopes for Doumbouya’s career to have a similar trajectory to Pascal Siakam, who also spent the majority of his rookie season in the G League. Jordan Bone also proved to be problematic for the GoGo. He got downhill often and attacked relentlessly on his way to an impressive showing. He finished with 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Craig Sword led the Drive with 21 points.
All in all, it was a good showing for the GoGo. In only their second year of existence, GM Pops Mensah-Bonsu looks to be having the team headed in the right direction. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going for the remainder of the season.
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