For the first time in their six-year history as a member of the NBA Development League, the Mad Ants not only had a winning regular season record (27-23), but also qualified for the playoffs as the No. 6 seed.FORT WAYNE – The Mad Ants used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the Tulsa 66ers, 121-115 Thursday at the NBA D-League Showcase in Reno, Nev.
It was Fort Wayne’s sixth straight victory and improved its record to 9-10.
The Mad Ants had seven players in double-figures, led by Anthony Richardson with 28 points, including 22 in the second half.
Luke Harangody notched his second double-double of the Showcase, with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Mitchell and Ron Howard had 15 apiece.
Fort Wayne was sparked by a 25-4 run that put it ahead 58-55 at halftime, followed by a 20-4 run out of the gate in the third quarter.
Tulsa responded to the Fort Wayne runs with bursts of its own, including of 20-7 run before the half.
With 4:10 remaining, the 66ers found themselves trailing again, this time by 14.
Oklahoma City Thunder assignee Jeremy Lamb led a final charge scoring eight points in the final 1:20 but it wasn’t enough.
Lamb paced Tulsa with a game-high 33 points on 11-for-19 shooting.
In two games in Reno during the Showcase, he tallied 51 points on 18-of-35 shooting, to go along with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Fort Wayne heads to Erie, Pa., and play the BayHawks on Saturday.
