Andre Dawkins got a second chance to make a first impression with the Maine Red Claws on Saturday night and he made the most of it – it just wasn’t enough.
Dawkins, who helped Duke win the NCAA men’s basketball national title in 2010, scored a team-high 27 points and had eight assists, but the Sioux Falls Skyforce took control down the stretch to earn a 103-94 win in an NBA D-League game at the Portland Expo.
Dawkins, assigned to the Red Claws on Friday after he was signed by the Boston Celtics to a 10-day tryout contract, scored nine points in his debut Friday, a 114-108 loss to the Delaware 87ers.
It was the third consecutive loss for the Red Claws (17-8), who were missing Andre Stringer and Chris Babb from their lineup.
“Each of the last three games, it would definitely have been nice to have our full lineup,” Red Claws Coach Scott Morrison said. “Andre Stringer and Babb are two of our better defenders. In crunch time you’ve got to get stops and we weren’t able to do that the last three games.”
The Skyforce, who beat the Red Claws 103-96 on Jan. 15 in the D-League Showcase, outscored Maine a 21-10 over the last six minutes of the game.
“The guys who were out there were more than capable of getting it done,” Morrison said. “They gave it a good effort tonight, but Sioux Falls hit some better shots than we did and we made some critical mental mistakes down the stretch.”
“Props to Sioux Falls,” said Maine point guard Tim Frazier, who scored 18 points and had a game-high 13 assists. “They came to play the whole game and they were fortunate to come away with the win.”
Fuquan Edwin scored 21 points to lead six Sioux Falls players into double figures. Scotty Hopson followed with 20 points. Tyler Johnson added 18 points, and Shawn Jones had 16 points. Khem Birch and Henry Walker each scored 10 points for the Skyforce (14-11).
Ralph Sampson III scored 12 points for the Red Claws (17-8), and Christian Watford added 10.
Dawkins scored 14 points in the second quarter to help Maine stay in the game.
Sioux Falls took a 54-50 lead when Birch’s tip-in beat the buzzer to end the second quarter less than a minute after Dawkins sank his fourth 3-pointer.
Friday night, Dawkins, who averaged a team-high 22.9 points in 11 games with the Skyforce prior to joining the Red Claws, was 1 for 13 from 3-point range. Saturday, he was 8 for 18 from beyond the arc.
“Yesterday, I felt fine but the shots just wouldn’t go in,” Dawkins said.
“It was definitely a positive for him to knock down some shots and show what he can do while he’s here,” Morrison said. “Hopefully, we’ll have him for the rest of the week, get him into practice and get him even more comfortable.”
Dawkins looked extremely comfortable Saturday.
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