Power Defeats 3's Company to Win 2018 BIG3 League Championship

After being the best team during the regular season, Power lived up to its billing in the playoffs with a 51-43 victory over 3's Company to win the BIG3 championship at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday night.      

Power controlled this game early and looked like it would cruise to a blowout victory after going up 47-29 in the second half. 

3's Company finally started making shots and tightened up on defense to go on a 14-2 run that closed the gap to six before Cuttino Mobley made the game-winning jumper. 

Fresh off being named league MVP on Tuesday, Corey Maggette added a championship trophy to his mantle by scoring a game-high 27 points. 

This has been a remarkable season for Maggette, who tore his Achilles in Power's first game last year. That moment in July 2017 left him with doubts about his future in basketball. 

"I have to be honest with you, I was praying a lot," Maggette told For The Win's Nina Mandell. "Should I do this again? And then the competitive nature in me was: 'I have to come back. I'm not going to let this injury stop me.' And I worked my tail off to get back."

Maggette's decision paid huge dividends. He was an unstoppable force in the BIG3, finishing in the top three in total points (135), rebounds (57) and assists (25). 

The size of Power was a key difference in the game. As Maggette (6'6") could do whatever he wanted on the court, Glen Davis (6'9") steamrolled 3's Company and showed off a good spin move to get to the basket:

Power's long-distance shooting was another reason it got the win. Maggette, Mobley and Quentin Richardson combined for five three-pointers. 3's Company made just two. 

Andre Emmett was terrific in defeat with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. Dahntay Jones, who had 38 points in eight regular-season games, also contributed 10 points. 

3's Company can hang its head high after the loss. It posted the third-best record in the BIG3 during the regular season at 5-3, blew out the 3 Headed Monsters in the semifinals last week and nearly erased a huge deficit against the league's best team in the title game. 

This was Power's year, though. The team lost one game during the regular season, including each of its last three by double digits. It did what it needed to in the playoffs to stand atop the podium as the BIG3's best in 2018.