The Demetris Nichols 42 Point Chronicles

How do you put up 42 in a NBA Development League game?  Demetris Nichols of the Sioux Falls Skyforce showed how on Tuesday night against the Iowa Energy.  There’s more than a guy just jacking up shots.  It takes some dedicated teammates preparing for the right situations to find you and finishing the deal.

Following the opening tap, Demetris gets a feed from Mychel Thompson and takes a fadeaway (2pts).  Two trips later, Mustapha Farrakhan sets up Nichols for a three.  Then moments later a Farrakhan feed Nichols scores at the rim and completes a three point play.  Eight of the first ten points Sioux Falls scored courtesy of Nichols.  Demetris would score 8 more in the first stanza with an array of jump shots created off the dribble.

The middle stages of the game involved a little breather before the onslaught continued.  A jump shot and some free throws in the second followed by two layups and a jumper in the third quarter set the table for Nichols time in the final 12 minutes.

Entering the 4th quarter, the Skyforce led 88-87 and both teams were having success offensively.  Nichols hit a couple free throws to give the home team a two point edge with 11:31 left.  Iowa scored the next 6 points to lead 94-90.  Nichols got the lead back with a drive, fadeaway and floater all in one-on-one moves.  Current tally:  35 points for Demetris with the game in the balance.  Mark Tyndale and Chris Davis provided more scoring punch as the reserves pushed the lead to seven.  Nichols hit two more free throws with 4:44 on the clock and the lead was 104-95 Sioux Falls.  A step-back jumper at the 3:14 mark made it 108-100, giving Nichols 39 points tying him with two other players in the NBADL for the highest individual scoring effort this season.  However both teams were still pretty sound offensively and there would be no garbage time.  Nichols let fly for the final time from deep in the right corner and the ball swished through with 1:27 left to complete a 15 point 4th stanza.  Especially telling was Tyndale as he raised both arms knowingly as the ball took flight which you can view in the highlight package.  42 points for Demetris Nichols in a command performance that included 7 rebounds and 8 assists and the Skyforce capture win number 20.  The encore comes Friday night against the Tulsa 66ers.