Welcome Back: Buffalo's Return to the Association | A Bigjdotcom01 Production

[bigjdotcom01]

GAME #1 - 2017-18 SEASON
NICE DEBUT
Stallions Win First Game in Franchise History, 115-103 Over the Rockets

Michael Carter-Williams was a force for the Stallions in their opener.

11/2/17
Houston, TX (AP) - The Buffalo Stallions made their National Basketball Association debut on Thursday evening and made it a special one as they went on the road and defeated the Houston Rockets 115-103 at the Toyota Center. Nik Stauskas and Michael Carter-Williams led a very balanced scoring attack as the Stallions rallied from a 13 point first half deficit to win this one in a rout.

Nik Stauskas throws one down for the Stallions.

Houston (0-1) jumped out to a big first quarter lead as Buffalo looked very jittery. James Harden was on fire and Houston led this one 20-7 midway through the opening quarter. But from that point on, Buffalo, as surprise team this summer in the Summer League, dominated the game, against a team that had the best record in the NBA a season ago (23-9).

Buffalo closed out the first on a 19-12 run, then the game settled down, with each team trading the lead through the end of the third quarter. The Stallions then opened the fourth with a 16-2 run that put them in control and salted this one away. Nik Strauskas hit back-to-back three pointers to key the run.

The Stallions were dominant on the glass, surprisingly outrebounding the Rockets 57-45.

Head Coah Kevin McHale was very pleased afterwards, "This is no surprise to me. We feel that we have a very competitive club that will be in all of our games. We may not win them all, but we will certainly be a scrappy bunch this season that may surprise some teams."

This was the first home loss for Houston since the NBA switched to the current shorter schedule. Last season the Rockets went (14-0) at the Toyota Center.

The Stallions will head to Denver on Tuesday night to take on the Nuggets (2-0), who will be playing their home opener after road wins against the Kings and Clippers.

[bigjdotcom01]

GAME #2 - 2017-18 SEASON
STALLIONS ROLL IN DENVER
Stallions Overcome Another Slow Start, Run Away Late

Michael Carter-Williams has been a great addition for the Stallions.

11/7/17
Denver, CO (AP) - Two games into the season and the Buffalo Stallions are defying expectations in Western New York. On Tuesday evening they won their second straight road game to open their inaugural season, defeating the Denver Nuggets 95-88 at the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver. Michael Carter-Williams led the way, scoring 27 points, while dishing out six assists and grabbing eight rebounds.

Alex Len throws one down hard for the undefeated Stallions.

Buffalo (2-0) looks very much like the scrappy bunch that won the Summer League. This team plays tenacious defense, and is a very good rebounding team. Two attributes that could very well spell success in their first NBA season.

The Nuggets (2-1) opened the game getting point guard Emmanuel Mudiay involved early. He scored 12 of his team high 27 points in the first quarter as the Nuggets built an early five point lead.

Nik Stauskas then got red-hot for Buffalo as the Stallions went on a 16-2 run to take control of the game. They outscored the Nuggets 29-15 to take a 56-46 lead into halftime and they would never trail again. Stauskas scored 17 in the opening half and finished with 21 points on 9 of 17 shooting.

The Stallions outrebounded Denver 64-44 including 14-3 on the offensive glass. Dwight Powell, acquired from Denver in a trade this summer, had a big night. He scored 11, and grabbed 13 boards. Solomon Hill, whom Powell was traded for played just four minutes. He grabbed three rebounds and did not score.

The Stallions will now have off until next Friday when they host the Chicago Bulls in their home opener and first ever game in Western New York.

[dfsJunkie]

Nice couple of wins, MCW is playing really well for you. I still am loving those jerseys man!

[bigjdotcom01]

Quote: Originally Posted by dfsJunkie

Nice couple of wins, MCW is playing really well for you. I still am loving those jerseys man!

Thanks for checking in! Yeah, I like the uniforms too. Too bad you can only have two uniforms for an expansion franchise. It would be nice to have some alternates also.

[bigjdotcom01]

STALLIONS PLAYER EARNS HONOR

Michael Carter-Williams earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week Honors for November 5-11.

New York, NY (AP) - Michael Carter-Williams earned the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of November 5-11 as he led the Stallions to a 95-88 victory in Denver, scoring a team high 28 points, while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out six assists. He led the expansion Stallions to their second straight road win as they improved to (2-0).

Chris Paul of the Clippers earned the honor for the Western Conference. He scored 27 points and added 14 assists as the Clippers defeated Portland 103-100.

[bigjdotcom01]

GAME #3 - 2017-18 SEASON
BULLS PULL AWAY LATE
Chicago Hands Stallions Their First Loss

Taj Gibson looking like another great Chicago player from the past.

11/17/17
Buffalo, NY (AP) - The Chicago Bulls were the opponent for the return of the NBA to the hardwood in downtown Buffalo on Friday night and things did not end well for the home side as the Bulls rallied from an 11 point deficit to defeat the Buffalo Stallions 104-97 to remain undefeated. Taj Gibson scored 21 points and pulled down 18 rebounds, to go along with Robin Lopez's 22 point and 15 rebound performance to help lead Chicago to the victory.

Alex Len with a monster slam in the first half of Buffalo's loss.

The Stallions came out and looked up to the task early on. They led by as many as 10 in the opening quarter, before a late Bulls run gave the visitors a 28-26 lead after one.

A thunderous Alex Len dunk early in the second gave the Stallions an eight point lead at 38-30. They would carry that momentum into halftime, leading the Bulls by four at the break. Rookie Ray Smith led the Stallions with 12 points in the opening half on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor. But he would go scoreless the rest of the way, managing just one shot over the final two quarters.

The Stallions (2-1) held a six point lead after three quarters after a rather slopping third quarter. Both teams shot under 40% in the third, with Buffalo outscoring the Bulls 20-18. The teams combined to go 3 for 17 from beyond the arc.

In the fourth, it was all Chicago as they flexed their muscle, outscoring the expansion franchise 37-24. They leaned on veterans Dwayne Wade and Robin Lopez in the fourth. They combined for 26 points and went a combined 10-10 from the free throw line.

Free throws were the story in this one, with the Bulls going 20-24 (83%) from the charity stripe and Buffalo managing to make just 6 of 14 (43%). Through three games, the Stallions are dead last in the NBA in free throw percentage, shooting just 52.2%

Buffalo will now head back out onto the road for two games, playing in New Orleans next Friday and in Brooklyn a week from Wednesday. They will return home to the KeyBank Center two weeks from tonight as they host the Dallas Mavericks.

[bigjdotcom01]

GAME #4 - 2017-18 SEASON
STALLIONS CRUSH PELICANS
Buffalo Improves to 3-0 Away From Home

Anthony Davis started out on fire.

11/24/17
New Orleans, LA (AP) - The Buffalo Stallions improved to (3-1) on the season with a convincing 111-87 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center in downtown New Orleans. Center Alex Len was a force in the middle, scoring 18 points, while pulling down 14 boards and dishing out five assists.

Alex Len with a dunk.

It looked like it was going to be the Anthony Davis show in this one at the start. Davis scored 22 of the Pelicans 26 points in the opening quarter as the Pelicans started the game on a 16-4 run. But the Stallions made some adjustments and held Davis to just 12 points over the final three quarters.

Buffalo had a block fest in the second quarter, swatting six Pelicans shots as they opened up a 51-43 lead at the break. A 19-2 run to end the third quarter gave the Stallions an 80-67 lead heading to the fourth, where they cruised to the victory.

The Stallions blocked ten shots in the game and outrebounded the Pelicans 64-44. Buffalo also had 34 assists on 45 made baskets. Nik Stauskas, Alex Len and Dwight Powell each had 18 points to pace the Stallions. Michael Carter-Williams added 17 points and dished out seven assists. Tarik Black scored six points, pulled down 11 boards and blocked four shots.

Buffalo will play in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, then return home to face Dallas next Friday.

[ZekeRoberts]

Looking good man, got a decent team there. Great logo... if you ever get it uploaded let us know!