Connor Mackay reports as the Lions cut down the Manchester Giants to even up the series one a piece.
Lions starters Nick Lewis and Jaron Lane put on a shooting masterclass as they scored 19 and 13 points respectively to see London to victory.
The Lions’ Jamal Williams showed some beautiful footwork in the first quarter, making three of his four attempts. If he wasn’t spinning to get an open lane inside, he was fading away and hitting the shots.
Ingus Bankevics carried the Giants with a game high 22 points, while Stefan Gill came off the bench to score 9, but their efforts were futile as the Lions maintained a robust defence, especially on the low post.
Williams’ brothers Jamal and Kai took advantage of the Lions’ strong defence and piled on the pressure and points. Nevertheless Bankevics attempted to keep the Giants in the game by making some important three pointers to keep the Manchester level after the first quarter.
The Lions continued to play a full court press against the Giants, and took full advantage of their mistakes. With six minutes to go before the end of the first half London’s Andre Lockhart stole the ball and set up a breaking Zachariah Gachette who finished with an emphatic slamdunk to assert his dominance and end the half 40-26.
The Giants struggled in the 3rd quarter going behind by six points. Bankevics produced solid numbers and stats creating space for himself as there were no other options.
The Giants were static in the remaining minutes of the quarter resulting in forced passes and several turnovers. It was the Lions defence that controlled the tempo of the game late on, with defensive stops on many of the Giants’ possessions to keep their lead intact.
Late into the fourth quarter, Blayne Freckleton found his range from the outside to give the Lions the final push they needed and cruise to victory and win by a convincing 25 points.