The Delaware Blue Coats are returning to a familiar place, the G League Finals.
On Sunday night, Delaware went on the road to defeat the number one seed in East, the Long Island Nets(Brooklyn Nets G League affiliate), 108-94 in the Eastern Conference Finals, to advance to the G League Finals for the third straight season.
Delaware, the Eastern Conference champions once again, and the G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers will host the winner of the Rio Grande Valley/Sioux Falls Western Conference Finals matchup in Game 1 of the G League Finals on Tuesday night.
The Blue Coats got off to another fast start and led 56-45 at the half. Delaware had their largest lead of the game at 77-52 in the third and led 83-68 at the end of three, but Long Island made a furious run in the fourth. They went on a 24-10 run to start the fourth and cut the lead to 93-92 with just over five minutes to go.
At that point, you thought the Nets could pull off the big comeback.
However, the Blue Coats went on a 12-2 run to take complete control as Mac McClung scored four of his 16 points during the run, and Delaware pushed their lead to 105-94 with just under a minute to go.
The Blue Coats had a balanced attack, with six players in double figures. Jaden Springer had a big game with 21 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, and three blocks; Louis King had 20 points, five assists, and three steals; Charlie Brown Jr. had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Braxton Key added 15 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
For Long Island, Kaiser Gates led the way with 21 points.
Delaware has some unfinished business, and unlike last season, they will have homecourt advantage, which should help. After losing four straight to close the regular season, Delaware has found their groove, and hopefully, for them, they can keep the momentum going into the Finals.
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