Game Preview: Skyforce vs Wolves

IOWA WOLVES (7-17)
Last Meeting: L, 131-128 on 3/4/23 in Sioux Falls
Livestream: NBAGLeague.com
All-Time Record: 36-50
Streak: L4

 The Sioux Falls Skyforce were defeated 131-128 by the Iowa Wolves on Friday night at the Sanford Pentagon in the first of a back-to-back.
The Wolves were down 120-111 with six minutes remaining. They went on a 20-8 run in the final 6:01 minutes of play to secure the victory. Emmanuel Mudiay scored 22 points on 9-13 FGA, five rebounds and four assists in the second half (12 points on 5-7 FGA in the fourth quarter) to help mount the comeback.

Miami HEAT assignee Ömer Yurtseven (10 rebounds and five assists) and Jamal Cain (eight rebounds) led the team with 27 points each to lead the Force. DJ Stewart had 23 points on 9-9 FGA and five rebounds, while Elmore chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and three steals to round out top scorers for Sioux Falls.

Containing Craig Randall III and Minnesota Timberwolves assignee Wendell Moore, Jr. will be crucial, as the two of them combined for 41 points on 17-34 FGA and eight rebounds. Iowa also doubled the Force's three-point makes in the game, going 18-37 3PA (48.6 percent), compared to 9-33 3PA (27.3 percent). 

Despite the loss, Sioux Falls still sits in the sixth and final Western Conference playoff spot with nine games remaining. The Santa Cruz Warriors sit just a half-game back and face the Cleveland Charge (13-11) tonight. The Skyforce sits just a half-game back of the Salt Lake City Stars for the fifth seed. SLC travels to face the Texas Legends on Monday afternoon. 

Following the series finale with the Wolves, a two-game West Coast trip looms as important as ever this season for the Skyforce. They face the South Bay Lakers (16-7), who currently are on a five-game winning streak and are in the third seed in the West. Sioux Falls sits just three games back of the Lakers, who face the Maine Celtics (14-9), who sit third in the Eastern Conference. 

Tip-off is slated for 9:00 PM CST on both Monday and Wednesday at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, CA. Iowa travels to play the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Thursday, with tip-off at 7:00 PM. 

FOUR THINGS:

BOUYEA'S DC BOUND

• Jamaree Bouyea earned the Skyforce's seventh NBA Call-Up, which is good for best in the NBA G League. He is the fifth Sioux Falls player in the last two seasons to earn multiple NBA Call-Ups in a season.
• Bouyea averaged 18.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 18 games this season for the Force.
• Sioux Falls currently has 17.5 percent of the NBA G League's Call-Ups this season. 

SECOND GAMES OF BACK-TO-BACK'S
• Sioux Falls is 3-1 this season on the second of a back-to-back and 2-0 at the Sanford Pentagon in those situations. 
• The Force is 1-4 this season in the first of a back-to-back. 

BOX SCORES DON'T DO JUSTICE HERE
• When the Skyforce plays Marcus Garrett 18-20 minutes per game, the team is 7-1. • He has scored in double figures in half of those games and has a combined plus-minus of +16.
 • The Force is 8-0 this season when MG scores 11+ points and 5-0 when he has 7+ rebounds. 
• Garrett leads the Skyforce in steals this season with 30 and is in the top four in four different categories. 

BULLY BALL
• Sioux Falls outscored Iowa 70-48 in points in the paint on Friday night. The Force shot 74.4 percent (35-47 FGA) in the paint last night. The team is 8-3 this season when do out-score the opponent in the paint and 5-10 when either losing the battle or tying it
• The Force is 9-6 this season when scoring 50+ points in the paint and teams in the NBA G League are 41-20 this season when they have 70+ points in the paint.