Jalen Lecque drove the length of the floor and scored on a layup with less than a second remaining, and the sixth-seeded RGV Vipers ousted the third-seeded South Bay Lakers from the playoffs with a 124-122 victory Wednesday at the UCLA Health Training Center in Los Angeles.
The Vipers, the defending NBA G League champions, became the last team to make the playoffs, securing a spot after winning the final two regular-season games and Mexico City losing the final two.
The Vipers trailed 122-117 with 1:05 remaining before the surge to the end. With the Western Conference quarterfinal win, the Vipers will play the Memphis Hustle at 11 a.m. Friday at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. Like the first round, it will be a one-game playoff.
The Vipers’ TyTy Washington Jr. led all scorers with 30 points to go with eight assists, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Darius Days added 21 points and eight rebounds. Trevor Hudgins contributed 21 points and Jarrett Culver registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Lecque started the run with a steal and was fouled. He connected on one of two free throws to cut the lead to 122-118. Washington followed with a pair of free throws and Days scored on a runner to tie the game. South Bay turned the ball over twice and missed a shot during the Vipers’ run to a tie.
After another South Bay turnover with 6.2 seconds remaining in regulation, Lecque took the inbound pass and went the distance, finishing with a finger roll. South Bay attempted an alley-oop unsuccessfully as time ran out.
South Bay finished with 11 turnovers, three of them coming during the final 65 seconds.