Winning one is hard.
Defending it is harder.
The Stockton Kings were right back in the same spot as a year ago — down at halftime after dropping Game 1 on the road.
Against the Osceola Magic, they answered. Against the Greensboro Swarm, they couldn’t.
Even after rallying from a 12-point halftime deficit to tie the game midway through the third quarter, “self-inflicted” mistakes proved too much to overcome, as the No. 3 Stockton Kings fell to the No. 2 Greensboro Swarm 119-104 in Game 2 of the NBA G League Finals on Friday, April 10, in front of 4,020 fans at Adventist Health Arena.
With the win, the Charlotte Hornets’ affiliate secured its first title, ending Stockton’s bid to become only the second team to repeat.
“We just had a hard time finding a rhythm,” coach Will Scott said. “We finally got it going in the third and thought we had them on the ropes a little bit. Then they hit some big shots. Give them credit — they played really well and had a great season. Congratulations to Greensboro.”
Guard Jameer Nelson Jr. added, “If I was on another team, I probably wouldn’t feel this bad. I feel for the fans because they showed up and gave us a great crowd. It feels like we disappointed them. They gave us a chance to lift them up, and we didn’t do that. We were down four, but at times it felt like we were up 10.”
Recent Sacramento Kings 10-day signee and All-NBA G League First Team selection DaQuan Jeffries led Stockton with 27 points, adding 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Guard Dexter Dennis, one of four returning players from last year’s championship team, contributed 24 points with six rebounds.
Forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., on a two-way deal with Sacramento, finished with 20 points, while Nelson chipped in 18 points off the bench.
“It’s unfortunate, but I’m living with everybody in that locker room” Nelson said. “I feel like we did what we set out to do, which was put ourselves in position to win a championship. We just couldn’t pull it out.”
Tosan Evbuomwan led Greensboro with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists, earning NBA G League Finals MVP honors. The forward is on a two-way deal with Charlotte.
Forward Tidjane Salaün, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while 2025 first-round pick guard Liam McNeeley scored 21.
Forward Jaylen Sims, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, chipped in 20 points, and guard Antonio Reeves, on a two-way deal with Charlotte, added 15.
“A lot of it was self-inflicted,” Scott said. “They had their influence. You’ve got to play better in this environment, in these games.”
‘A selfless group’
Words can’t describe how proud Scott is of the group.
Sure, seeing center Dylan Cardwell earn a four-year deal with Sacramento helps. So does watching guard Daeqwon Plowden, on a two-way contract, average 10.8 points across 26 NBA appearances.
Then there’s how the group responded after both moved on — and even as someone like Baldwin, with 102 NBA games of experience, joined the mix.
Winning is always the goal.
But it’s the culture built every day that, to Scott and the group, means just as much as the result.
“We were just a selfless group,” Scott said. “We really bought into the team. Different players had career highs throughout the season, and we were a really connected group that played the right way for the most part, which isn’t easy in this environment. So definitely a special group. I think they all felt that day in and day out.”
Nelson added, “He believed in me and believed in us. That’s what you get with a championship-level team.”
Even in defeat, it showed.
Stockton struggled to find its footing early, shooting just 6-for-23 from the field in the first quarter to fall behind 25-19.
Greensboro took advantage, stretching the lead to 14, 52-38, with 3:21 left and carrying a 62-50 lead into halftime.
“We just had a hard time getting it going in the first half,” Scott said. “This was probably our worst shooting night of the season, which is poor timing.”
Despite the struggles, Stockton opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run, cutting the deficit to five.
With 5:17 left, the Kings tied it for the first time since the opening tip — with Dennis scoring 14 points in the stretch.
Unlike last season, however, they couldn’t turn that momentum into a lead.
“When we made our run and we had them, they stepped up and they had a couple guys make some some really big plays,” Scott said. “That’s the way it goes. Give them credit. We needed to be better.”
Greensboro responded and carried an 89-83 advantage into the fourth.
From there, it didn’t take long to create separation, pushing the lead to 99-89 with 6:07 remaining and then to 14 with just over three minutes left.
McNeeley, Evbuomwan and Salaün combined for 21 of the 30 points in the quarter.
“It’s disappointing we weren’t able to play our best in this series,” Scott said. “I know we can play a lot better, and we have. They had something to do with that, for sure, but it doesn’t take away from what we accomplished this season.”
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Kings title defense ends as Greensboro Swarm win NBA G League Finals
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
