HIDALGO, TEXAS – The NBA Development League Champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the City of Hidalgo announced today in a press conference that the Vipers will play their home games at State Farm Arena through the 2012-13 season.

Additionally, tickets to the NBA pre-season game between the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic at State Farm Arena on October 5 will go on sale to the public June 25. Select fans, including Vipers season ticket holders, will be able to purchase tickets in a pre-sale that begins on June 15.

“State Farm Arena has been home to very special moments in the history of Vipers basketball, from the franchise’s first tip-off in 2007 to our championship victory in 2010. The Vipers look forward to future success in State Farm Arena and look forward to continuing our relationship with the city of Hidalgo,” Vipers President Brian Michael Cooper said.

The Vipers’ all-time record at State Farm Arena is 51-26 (.662). In 2009-10, the Vipers averaged a league-high 4,712 fans per regular season home game in addition to a record crowd of 6,198 for the Vipers NBADL Finals clinching win over Tulsa on April 27. The only sporting event to outdraw that game was the NBA pre-season game between the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics on October 7, 2009, when a crowd of 6,300 watched former-Viper Aaron Brooks lead the Rockets to victory over the Celtics.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers captured their first Championship Tuesday in Hidalgo.  In front of a sellout crowd, Craig Winder  pulled off an incredible three point shot as time expired to claim the victory 94-91 over the Tulsa 66ers.

HIDALGO, TEXAS – Craig Winder nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer, to give the Rio Grande Valley Vipers their first NBA Development League Championship with a 94-91 victory over the Tulsa 66ers in game two of the NBADL Finals tonight at State Farm Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 6,198, the largest to ever see a Vipers game.

“Craig’s got a lot of guts. He made a tough shot,’ Vipers head coach Chris Finch said.

Mike Harris hit a lay-up to tie the game with 55.5 seconds left, setting up Winder’s heroics.

The Vipers (6-2) become the first single-affiliate team and first expansion team to win an NBA Development League Championship. Harris is the first NBA Development League MVP since Ansu Sesay (Greenville Groove, 2002) to win a Championship. The Vipers are the first professional team in the Rio Grande Valley to win a Championship at State Farm Arena and the first to win a Championship since the 2004 Edinburg Roadrunners (Central Baseball League).

“This really speaks to the success of our single-affiliation agreement with the Houston Rockets. Our goal was to bring a championship to the Rio Grande Valley as quickly as possible, and we succeeded. The fan support has been incredible all season. We can’t thank them enough and we look forward to seeing them all back next year. I also want to thank the entire Vipers front office for doing an incredible job of becoming a part of the community and helping to grow Vipers basketball,” Vipers President Brian Michael Cooper said.

The only time a larger crowd is believed to have seen a basketball game in the Rio Grande Valley is October 7, 2009, when 6,300 fans watched the Houston Rockets beat the Boston Celtics on the Vipers’ court at State Farm Arena.

The Vipers led 6-5 in the opening minutes, but the 66ers (4-4) responded with a 6-0 run thanks in-part to four points from Deron Washington. Jonathan Wallace and Rich Melzer hit back-to-back threes as the Vipers went on a 10-run to take a 15-14 lead.

A Julian Sensley three-point play gave the Vipers a 35-27 lead at the midpoint of the second quarter, but the 66ers went on a13-2 run to take a 43-39 lead with 20 seconds remaining. Harris was fouled while attempting a desperation three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left and hit all three shots to bring the Vipers with one point at halftime.

The Vipers opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 51-45 lead in the first 2:38. After a timeout, the 66ers went on a 10-2 run to take a 55-53 lead. After Will Conroy hit a free throw, Harris scored the Vipers’ next six points as they took a 60-57 lead. The 66ers came back to take a 67-64 lead at the end of the third quarter on a JaJuan Smith three-pointer from a few feet behind the arc. It was his second of three such shots in the game.

Down 80-75 with 6:29 remaining, Craig Winder hit a three-pointer and Antonio Anderson nailed a reverse lay-up to tie the game. After a timeout, third-year Viper Stanley Asumnu hit a lay-up to give the Vipers an 82-80 lead. Larry Owens scored the 66ers’ next nine points to give Tulsa an 89-84 lead.

By: Jon L ridiculousupside.com

Rio Grande Valley Vipers 124, Tulsa 66ers 107 (Box Score)

I hate to do this (okay, maybe hate is a bit too strong), but before I get to the Monstars/Non-stars of the game, I have a complaint.  Specifically, I can’t believe this game was only shown on tape delay on Versus.  This certainly isn’t the first Versus game that’s aired several hours after it actually ended, in fact that was the norm during the regular season.  Although, I think we’ve all learned quite a bit about bull-riding this year, so that’s a plus.  There have been some live televised games during the playoffs, though, which is what you want for the playoffs.  You’d think the league would want that for the Finals, but apparently nothing doing.

I understand that Versus signed their deal with the NHL before their D-League deal, and that it’s currently the playoffs for hockey as well, but come on.  If the game can’t be shown live on TV, there must be some way for people to follow what happened in real time some other way. The options for tonight’s game were to: a.) watch a box score update without any images or video, and only guess as to what was happening, or b.) wait seven hours and go on a self-imposed media blackout until then.  I couldn’t visit the D-League website at any point this evening because I didn’t want to know the outcome before I watched the game.  Twitter also was out, because the league, teams and even some broadcasters have been doing a good job of using that platform to interact with fans, meaning I’d be getting updates there.

This is pretty much the opposite direction that most sports leagues are moving in these days.  It’s obviously too late to fix for this season, but for next year may I humbly request that any game not shown live on television be presented live in some other format.  I’m sure the league will find that this will enable a broader engagement with people watching.

So now that I’ve said that, let’s look at who played well and not-well last night on tape delay.

TULSA, OK – Will Conroy tallied his first triple-double of the post season as he led the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to a 124-107 win over the Tulsa 66ers in game one of the 2010 NBA Development League Finals Sunday afternoon at the Tulsa Convention Center. The Vipers now lead the best-of-three series 1-0 needing one more victory to earn their first NBA D-League Championship.

Conroy scored 14 points while dishing out 11 assists, and grabbing a career best 16 rebounds to pace the Vipers in a game that needed solid contributions from everyone who touched the floor.

The first quarter began sluggish for both teams with a combined five turnovers and no points in the first 1:53 of the game.  The game shifted a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the period as  the 66ers and the Vipers were tied five times and shifted the lead to each other on three occasions. After the first quarter the game was knotted up at 27 points apiece with Larry Owens leading the Tulsa charge with 13 points in the period. Julain Sensley led the first quarter scoring output for RGV with nine points.

In the second quarter Tulsa began to take charge. Tulsa took an eight point advantage by going on a 9-2 run, capped off by a Moses Ehambe lay-up to take a 41-33 lead with 7:33 to play in the half. Tulsa would grab their largest lead at the 5:05 mark on two Latavious Williams free throws, giving the 66ers a 50-40 lead. Rio Grande Valley would steal the lead back at the end of the half by going on a 12-5 run and led at intermission 61-59 thanks to Conroy’s beyond half court heave that counted for three. That shot gave the Vipers the lead for good.

“That shot was big simply for the fact that it gave us a two point lead when really didn’t play all that well in the first half,” Vipers head coach Chris Finch said. “We knew that if we just turned it up a notch and made smarter decisions we would be in good shape.”

The Vipers may have stolen the momentum from Tulsa with Conroy’s end-of-half dagger as they kept the game out of reach thanks to a remarkable third quarter start. The Vipers began the third quarter on an 8-1 run, with all eight points scored by NBA D-League MVP Mike Harris to take a 69-60 lead. Harris would exit the game, but the Vipers would continue their surge.

Tulsa would close to within five with 5:47 to play in the third, but Craig Winder scored six points in a Vipers 10-2 run to put RGV up 87-74 with 3:04 to play in the period. The Vipers led at the end of the 36 minutes 94-80,a 14-point advantage which was their largest of the game. The Vipers led by as many as 19 in the fourth to earn the victory

Despite playing only 21 minutes due to foul trouble, Harris scored 24 points to lead six Viper players in double figures. Sensley had a strong game, and was one of RGV’s lone scoring threats in the first half as he scored 19 of his 21 points in the first 24 minutes. Antonio Anderson scored 17 points and dished out nine assists. Craig Winder scored 18 off the bench, and Ernest scored scored all 12 of his points in the second half on four three pointer to lead a huge contribution from the RGV bench.

“Our bench was huge for us tonight,” Coach Finch added. “They gave us some big minutes when we really needed them, Craig (Winder) throughout, Ernest (Scott) in the second half, they were a big part of this win.”

Larry Owens scored 21 points leading Tulsa in their game one loss. Williams was solid tallying a double-double for the 66ers with 13 points and 13 boards. Deron Washington scored 13 of his 20 points from the foul line, while starting point guard Wink Adams scored 16 while dishing out seven assists.

The Vipers now have two chances at home to win the 2010 NBA D-League Championship. The series shifts to Texas for game two on Tuesday night. Tip-off at State Farm Arena is scheduled for 7:30 PM. Should a game three be necessary, it will be played Thursday night in Hidaglo also scheduled for a 7:30 tip-off.

NEW YORK, April 22, 2010 – Aaron Brooks of the Houston Rockets is the winner of the 2009-10 NBA Most Improved Player Award presented by Kia Motors, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.

Brooks received 403 of a possible 615 points, including 62 first-place votes, from a panel of 123 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder (17 first-place votes), Marc Gasol of Memphis Grizzlies (nine-first place votes) and George Hill of the San Antonio Spurs (seven first-place votes) tied for second with 101 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.

This season Brooks set career highs in points (19.6 ppg), assists (5.3 apg) and rebounds (2.6 rpg). His 8.4 ppg scoring increase from last season (11.2 ppg) was the highest in the league among minimum qualifiers. Brooks became only the sixth player in NBA history to make at least 200 three-pointers and dish out at least 400 assists in the same season. He set the Rockets’ single-season record for three-pointers made with 209. The 6-foot guard scored 20 or more points 39 times and at least 30 points on 10 occasions. This marks the second time that a former NBA Development League player (Bobby Simmons, 2005) has been a recipient of an NBA Annual Award. Brooks played for Rio Grande Valley Vipers during his rookie season.

As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a 2011 Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Brooks to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento, the Official Vehicle of the NBA, to the charity of choice of each of four 2009-10 season-end award winners as part of the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 12 new vehicles to charity since the program began in 2008.

The 2009-10 NBA Most Improved Player Award presented by Kia Motors is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” The series, currently in its third season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man and Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards. It also includes the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors, which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.

by Jon L on Apr 22, 2010 12:07 AM EDT in D-League Playoffs 2010

Rio Grande Valley Vipers 99, Austin Toros 98 (Box Score)

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers advanced to the 2010 D-League Finals, a remarkable achievement considering this is the first year in its history the team has made the playoffs.  This was a back and forth game for the last three quarters and went down to the final seconds.  Austin’s Michael Joiner missed a pair of free throws with 1:23 left and his team up two points.  The Vipers scored on their next two possessions, and after a pair of free throws by Marcus Williams put the Toros back up by one, a Mike Harris putback took the lead back for Rio Grande Valley.  Curtis Jerrells had a chance to tie the game or take the lead as he drove into the lane with 1.3 seconds left, but Jerrells was called for an offensive foul, and the Vipers were able to maintain possession for the remainder of the game and win the series.

Austin dug itself into an early hole by shooting 1-12 from beyond the arc to start the game.  In fact, both teams had problems hitting threes throughout the game, and missed 15 free throws between them.  Still, this was an entertaining, intense game that a worthy end to this semifinal series.  The #2 ranked Vipers now move on to face the #8 ranked Tulsa 66ers, who defeated the Iowa Energy last night in the deciding game of that series.  It should be an interesting finals matchup, as both teams are directly affiliated with one NBA team – the Oklahoma City Thunder own the 66ers, and the Houston Rockets run the Vipers’ basketball operations.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, my Monstars and Non-stars of this game are after the jump.

Monstars

• Mike Harris turned the ball over five times and spent a little too much time on the perimeter early on in the game, but he finished with 23 points on 9-12 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds, and as I mentioned had the game-winning putback.  Austin was able to keep him in check at times, but Harris had five points in the last two minutes.  He also had six assists, good for a power forward like Harris (many of those coming on passes out of double-teams), and three steals.
• WIll Conroy didn’t have the best shooting night, 14 points on 17 shots, but he had eight assists, six rebounds and just two turnovers in 37 minutes and once again was every bit the floor leader for the Vipers at the end of the game.
• Curtis Jerrells was one of the few Toros (if not the only one) not bothered by shooting woes.  Jerrells scored 29 points on 11-14 shooting, including 4-7 from outside, and picked up six assists.  He also had six turnovers, and had that charge at the end, but overall he had the best game start-to-finish of anyone on Austin’s roster.
• We haven’t talked about Rich Melzer much this post-season, but he did a solid job off the bench tonight.  Signed just two games before the end of the regular season, Melzer has grown into a decent backup big man for RGV.  He had 10 points on 3-5 shooting tonight, and grabbed five rebounds in 17 minutes.

HIDALGO, TEXAS – NBA Development League MVP and Houston Rockets-assignee Mike Harris picked up an offensive rebound and a lay-up with 8.0 seconds left to give the Western Conference Champion and second-seeded Rio Grande Valley Vipers a 99-98 victory over the third-seeded Austin Toros in game three of the NBADL Semifinals tonight at State Farm Arena in front of a crowd of 4,826 to win the series 2-1.

The Vipers (4-2) will face the eighth-seeded Tulsa 66ers (4-2) in the NBADL Finals in Tulsa for game one and at State Farm Arena for games two and three (if necessary). Dates and times for the Finals are expected to be announced tomorrow.

The Vipers opened the quarter on an 8-1 run to take an 87-76 with 8:58 remaining. San Antonio Spurs-assignee Curtis Jerrells hit a jumper with 2:57 remaining to give the Toros (3-3) the lead back at 91-90. With 1:06 left, Harris came up with a slam dunk to tie the game at 95-95. Craig Winder banked in a shot with 31.3 seconds left to give the Vipers a 97-95 lead, but Marcus Williams converted a three-point play to give the Toros the lead back at 98-97 with 23.3 seconds left. After Harris gave the Vipers the lead off of a Will Conroy miss, Jerrells committed an offensive foul while trying to give the Toros the lead with 1.4 seconds left to give the Vipers the ball back.

Harris finished with a team-high 23 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while also recording six assists, three steals and one block. Conroy scored 14 points with six rebounds and eight assists. Jerrells led all scorers with 29 points.

The Vipers opened the game on an 8-0 run after Antonio Anderson and Harris hit three-pointers and Jonathan Wallace hit a lay-up. The Toros got to within 14-13 at the 6:16 mark, but the Vipers responded with a 7-2 run to go up 21-15.

Anderson finished with 20 points, four rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block.

The Vipers took a 32-24 lead 1:18 into the second quarter, but Jerrells scored six points during an 8-0 run to tie the game for the first time with 6:43 remaining. The Toros took their first lead at 36-34 when Spurs-assignee Alonzo Gee hit a lay-up.

Gee scored 19 points to go with 10 rebounds while teammate Eddie Basden added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Jerrells sparked a 14-2 Toros run to open the third quarter by making two three-pointers and a lay-up to give Austin a 58-51 lead. Williams hit a pair of free throws with 6:05 left to give the Toros a 64-59 lead, but the Vipers responded with a 20-8 run, capped by Rich Melzer and Wallace three-pointers to give the Vipers a 79-72 lead.

Game 2 Highlights

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Austin Toros wrap up their semifinal series tonight, with the winner moving on to face the Tulsa 66ers in the finals. Hopefully this game doesn’t get out of hand like last night’s did. Really only the way this one could top it is if the Fan Man showed up. The game starts at 7:30 pm Central Time, and can be seen live on Futurecast here. As we have for each and every playoff game (and I do mean every game), I and probably Scott will be live-blogging this game in the comment section. Join us, won’t you?

Game one saw the Toros hold on against a late RGV rally using a five-guard lineup. Yes, really. Vipers forward (and this year’s D-League MVP) Mike Harris was limited by foul trouble in that game, which helped Austin considerably. The Vipers tied the series in game two behind a dominant performance from Harris and some early shooting woes for the Toros.

I predicted Rio Grande Valley to win the series, but this should be a fun, close game. My keys for each team are below the jump:

by Jon L on Apr 20, 2010 12:49 AM EDT in D-League Playoffs 2010

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers forced a game three in their D-League semifinal series, demolishing the Austin Toros tonight at home.  The Vipers jumped out to a 31-13 lead and outscored the Toros 37-22 in the fourth quarter to close out the game in convincing fashion.  The Toros couldn’t get over their cold start and couldn’t control the boards, as they were out-rebounded 50-37.  Now, on to the Monstars (which I’m using this time because it’s appropriate (Scott’s Note: And awesome)) and non-stars of the game.

• Mike Harris, unfettered by foul trouble, was huge for RGV.  Harris had 16 points in the first quarter and finished with 41 on 15-19 shooting, to go with 12 rebounds.  Harris was getting it done outside (4-4 on three-pointers) and inside, and Austin didn’t have anyone who really could guard him effectively.
• Other than a couple of dunks I didn’t notice Antonio Anderson much, but he finished with close to a triple-double, 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.  On a night when Austin’s rebounding wasn’t quite as sharp as it usually is, it was Anderson’s work there that probably helped his team the most.
• Ernest Scott was huge off the bench for the Vipers, hitting five of six three-pointers on the way to 17 points in a little under 14 minutes.  Scott has struggled with foul trouble at times during the playoffs, but his work tonight helped bury the Toros.
  
• Scott’s Bonus Fourth Star: Will Conroy had 15 points, 15 assists, five rebounds and just one turnover.  He shot just 6-of-16 from the field, but still. 15 assists compared to one turnover is not bad.