Game Report: Manchester Giants 73-86 Leicester Riders

The Leicester Riders made it two on the bounce with an 86-73 victory over the Manchester Giants in an entertaining British Basketball League contest.

Starting Five

Manchester Giants starting five: Legend Robertin, Jalen Harris, William Lee, Jamell Anderson, Nicholas Lewis.
Leicester Riders starting five: Kimbal Mackenzie, Miryne Thomas, Tj Lall, Mo Walker, Jaren Holmes.

First Half:

Tensions were high at the National Basketball Performance Centre, ahead of this clash between the Giants and Riders. A win tonight could mean so much to both sides, as they attempt to turn their seasons around.

Manchester sat in ninth position, following the Surrey Scorchers win over the Plymouth City Patriots on Friday. A win could be crucial, as they attempt to keep the pace and recover from a heartbreaking overtime loss to the London Lions.

On the other hand, Leicester were still riding the momentum they gained from a big win over the Caledonia Gladiators.

An impressive debut from recently acquired guard Teddy Allen gave Riders fans reason to believe, as they tried to turn the corner on an otherwise disappointing season.

You could feel the shared desperation in the opening minutes, with multiple blown layups and unforced turnovers. The teams scored only 17 combined points and shared six turnovers in the first five minutes.

The sides then went blow-for-blow until the end of the first, closing the initial quarter with Leicester up by two.

The end-to-end nature of the game persisted into the second quarter, but thefast-paced action didn’t necessarily result in more efficient scoring right away. After a series of missed layups however, the aggression started to pay off.

The Giants attacked with conviction to take the lead, through the efforts of Jamell Anderson and Nicholas Lewis. With Evan Walshe also offering a scoring punch from the bench, Brian Semonian’s team had the temporary advantage.

Then came Allen, who injected Rob Paternostro’s side with another dose of swagger as part of the second unit. After a spotty start from the field, ‘Teddy Buckets’ combined with Miryne Thomas to spearhead the Riders offence and regain the lead.

As the teams retreated to their respective locker rooms, Riders were up by eight .

Second Half:

Leicester continued to build the lead in the third, with Kimbal Mackenzie shooting confidently from mid-range and TJ Lall providing a threat from beyond the arc.

In response, Giants centre Legend Robertin battled in the paint to make a string of resounding dunks, but his struggled to chip away at the ever-growing deficit.

Allen clearly held the keys to the Riders offence in the final quarter, as he made play after the play, to mixed results. The new recruit glided from coast to coast, letting it fly from deep and driving the lane to earn multiple opportunities at the line.

Though Walshe provided some buoyancy for Manchester with some assertive play, with five minutes remaining, it became a case of how far Leicester could stretch their elastic lead.

Though the Giants threatened to reduce the gap to single digits on a few occasions, the Riders managed the game effectively down the stretch.

In what appeared to be a fairly sloppy for Leicester contest at the beginning, turnovers ended up being a major factor for Manchester down the stretch, as they gave the ball away five more times than their counterparts.

Player of the Game:

Tonight’s Player of the Game was Teddy Allen, who followed his red hot debut with 21 points, six rebounds and two assists.