The Delaware Blue Coats got their first postseason victory in franchise history as they defeated the Austin Spurs 124-103 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida on Monday night. With the victory, Delaware advances to the G League semifinals to battle the Raptors 905 on Tuesday at 9:15 p.m. ET(ESPNU)
Isaiah Joe was huge for the Blue Coats on Monday night. Joe, who is on assignment from the 76ers, had game-high 28 points, including seven threes. 76ers two-way contract players Paul Reed (17 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, one block) and Rayjon Tucker (14 points) combined for 31 points. The Blue Coats had six players in double figures scoring, including all five starters.
Cameron Reynolds led Austin with a team-high 26 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
After the game, Blue Coats head coach Connor Johnson talked about Joe’s ability to get good looks from three-point range.
“If you make one a game, it’s not much,” Johnson said about Joe. “For him to get 15 pretty good looks and make seven of them, I think that’s impressive, and that stands out to me right away.”
Delaware’s Justin Robinson recorded a double-double with 16 points, a G League career-high-tying 13 assists, and four steals in 33 minutes. Robinson’s previous 13-assist game came in the first meeting against the Spurs on Feb. 21. Michael Frazier II, celebrating his 27th birthday on Monday, came off the Blue Coats bench to score 18 points.
Now, the Blue Coats have to play the team with the best record in the G League, Raptors 905. These two teams met in the regular season, where Raptors 905 routed the Blue Coats 138-107. However, Johnson is excited about the opportunity to get revenge.
“They crushed us last time, and I think it’s exciting for us to try to get some revenge,” Johnson said. “They’re very talented; they have a lot of shooting… I think it’s a great challenge. We played some good defense today that we’re proud of, but another step for us to play probably the most talented teams in the G League.”
The Blue Coats will have Joe this time around against Raptors 905, so that should help, but there is a reason why they are the number one seed, so this will be a huge challenge for Delaware.
