BIG3 League Basketball 2019 Results: Amar'e Stoudemire, Greg Oden Shine in Wins
BIG3 has arrived to the third weekend of the 2019 season with the action unfolding at Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama.
Saturday's slate had three games, and four of the six teams suited up were still seeking their first wins of the season.
Below is an overview of Saturday's BIG3 results before Ice Cube's league finishes Week 3 Sunday in Atlanta.
Saturday Results
Tri-State (1-2) def. 3's Company (0-3), 50-44
Aliens (1-2) def. Ball Hogs (0-3), 51-39
Ghost Ballers (2-1) vs. Enemies (2-1): 51-35
Sunday Schedule
Triplets vs. Bivouac, 1 p.m. ET
3-Headed Monsters vs. Killer 3s, following the first game
Trilogy vs. Power, following the second game
Recaps
Enemies 51, Ghost Ballers 35
The Enemies lived up to their name and handed the Ghost Ballers their first loss of 2019.
The Ghost Ballers put together a 10-0 run in the second half—behind two consecutive four-point buckets from Mike Taylor—but their offense was stalled for the majority of the game.
Perhaps the greatest way to illustrate the Ghost Ballers' struggles is to note that Jamario Moon was held to seven points after scoring at least 20 in each of the season's first two games.
The game's leading scorer was the Enemies' Craig Smith with 23 points, but the game was put away by back-to-back threes from Gilbert Arenas.
Arenas finished with 12 points, five rebounds and an assist.
The Ghost Ballers' Week 4 opponent will be reigning champion Power next Saturday, and the Enemies will face the Aliens following that game.
Aliens 51, Ball Hogs 39
Greg Oden inspired nostalgia in the Aliens' first win in franchise history.
Oden, the top overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft whose injury history has been well-documented, scored 15 of his 18 total points in the first half. The 31-year-old finished with a team-high 18 points and also contributed four rebounds, an assist and a block.
"I just gotta be better. I come from a no-excuse household," Ball Hogs' Brian Scalabrine blatantly said on the CBS Sports Network when asked about his defending on Oden. The assessment applies to the whole squad, still searching for its first win in franchise history.
The game-winning shot came from the Aliens' captain, Andre Owens, and Brandon Rush registered a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
In the loss, the Ball Hogs were led by 20 points and eight rebounds from DeShawn Stevenson.
The Ball Hogs' next chance at getting that elusive first win will be next Saturday against 3's Company, also a winless team. The Aliens can build on their momentum next Saturday against the Enemies.
Tri-State 50, 3's Company 44
Tri-State did what they couldn't through the first two weeks of the season: finish off the game.
Amar'e Stoudemire scored Tri-State's winning bucket, which was counted after Drew Gooden was called for goaltending to end the game. Stoudemire scored a game-high 22 points and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds.
During the game, the 36-year-old former NBA Rookie of the Year said on the CBS Sports Network broadcast that he's hoping for his BIG3 performance to launch him back into the NBA:
Nate Robinson, Stoudemire's teammate, launched a four-point shot to start the second half. The bucket began a 12-2 run for Tri-State, which helped the team to stave off 3's Company's comeback at the end of the game.
Robinson finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and an honest assessment of how things went on the court.
In the loss, 3's Company was led by Andre Emmett's 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Next week, 3's Company will again go for their first win of 2019. The team is set to play against the Ball Hogs, while Tri-State will take on the Triplets.
