Ignite Set to Make First Playoff Appearance on Monday

NBA G League Ignite is set for its first G League playoff appearance Monday, matching up against top-seeded Raptors 905 in quarterfinal action. The game tips off at 3:45 p.m. from AdventHealth Arena and live on ESPN2. Following Oklahoma City Blue’s loss to the Santa Cruz Warriors early Saturday afternoon, Ignite earned its playoff berth by virtue of a three-way tie after a dominating 127-92 victory over the Austin Spurs. While in a typical season Ignite will not play a full NBA G League schedule nor be considered a standard G League team for the purposes of league-wide standings, during this non-traditional shortened season the squad is eligible to contend for the G League championship. The NBA G Final presented by YouTube TV is set for March 11. Ignite defeated the Raptors, 113-105, earlier this season on Feb. 13 behind Daishen Nix’s 25 points. Rookie teammates Jonathan Kuminga (23 points) and Jalen Green (21) also dropped 20-point performances to help Ignite despite the team’s 29 turnovers. Nik Stauskas led 905 with 23 points, while Gary Payton II logged 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven steals. LAST TIME OUT Ignite produced a total-team win to stay in the hunt for the NBA G League Championship, scoring a season-high 127 points for a 35-point victory over the Austin Spurs (127-92). Amir Johnson shot a perfect 12-12 from the field to lead Ignite with 27 points, and the team was bolstered by Isaiah Todd’s 25-point, 11-rebound performance. The duo was among five Ignite players to score in double figures (Jalen Green - 18 points; Daishen Nix - 12; Cody Demps - 10) and every player to check into the game contributed at least 4 points. BY THE NUMBERS 12-12 Amir Johnson’s 12-12 shooting clip against Austin marked – the most consecutive field goals without a miss by a G League player since Devontae Cacok on Feb. 12, 2020. Johnson finished with 27 points, the most by any Ignite player this season. 8TH NBA G League Ignite claimed its eighth win of the season on an all-around effort that saw the team set season-high totals for shooting percentage (55.7 percent), field goals made (49) and points scored (127). The team was also perfect from the free throw line for the third time this season, going 9-9, and turned the ball over a season-low 12 times. 25 & 11 Isaiah Todd notched his first career double-double after setting new personal bests with 25 points and 11 rebounds over the Spurs. Todd also dished out a career-high 3 assists and went 4-6 from 3-point range.