This summer, Ice Cube's Big 3 3on3 basketball league is back for its third season. Expanded to twelve teams from the eight that it had its first two seasons, the league brings in some more top level talent this year. Former NBA All-Stars Gilbert Arenas and Joe Johnson are joining the league, as are two time NBA champion Lamar Odom, big man Al Jefferson, and former Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry. Josh Smith, former Atlanta Hawk high flyer, is playing as well, as is former dunk champion Jason Richardson.
The league's season tipped off on Saturday, June 22, from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 8pm on CBS, with the second round of week one games happening Sunday at 1pm from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Saturday, June 22: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Three Headed Monsters over Trilogy 51-46
Power over 3s Company 50-38
Bivouac over Enemies 50-43
Game 1: Trilogy (Jason Terry, Carlos Arroyo, David Hawkins, Sam Young, James White, Patrick O'Bryant) vs. 3 Headed Monsters (Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Mario Chalmers, Tre Simmons, Rashard Lewis, Reggie Evans, Larry Sanders)
Inactive: Mario Chalmers, Carlos Arroyo
Trilogy got out to a quick 5-0 lead, but 3 Headed Monsters went on a 10-0 run to take a five point lead. A 7-0 run by Trilogy put them up 15-12, keyed by Sam Young - the former Pittsburgh Panther and small forward - and his 4 points. After that though, the 3 Headed Monsters took control. Reggie Evans, the league's leading rebounder last season and its 7th leading scorer, had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. Rashard Lewis, coming off a torn Achilles suffered last season, had 10 first half points as the Monsters took a 26-19 lead into the half.
Trilogy had the game close near the end, scoring 6 straight points to cut the Monsters lead to 3 at 49-46. However, it was Evans who closed it out with an offensive rebound and put back to give the Monsters the 51-46 victory. Evans' activity was too much for Trilogy to handle, as he finished with 22 points and 24 rebounds, showcasing what allowed him to have such a successful NBA career as a high energy guy and rebounder from 2002-2015.
Rashard Lewis added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Three Headed Monsters, and James White, former New York Knick, led Trilogy with 17 points and 7 rebounds.
In Week 2, the Three Headed Monsters play next Sunday, June 30, against the Aliens - a new team coached by former NBA great Nate "Tiny" Archibald" - from Philadelphia, PA at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University. Trilogy plays next Saturday from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC vs another new team, The Triplets, who are coached by Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie.
Game 2: Power (Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, Quentin Richardson, Ryan Gomes, Mychel Thompson, Glen Davis, Chris Andersen) vs. 3s Company (Baron Davis, Dermarr Johnson, Andre Emmett, Drew Gooden, Dijon Thompson, Jason Maxiell)
Inactive: Corey Maggette, Baron Davis
Power, the defending champions, got off to a strong 16-7 start, spearheaded by the play of Cuttino Mobley and Quentin Richardson. It was Mobley, with 10 first half points, who hit a contested three over Drew Gooden to give Power a 25-14 lead at the half.
Richardson continued his strong shooting to open the second half, hitting from the left side on a long two pointer to give the Power an 11 point advantage, 27-16. Gooden came back and hit two straight threes to cut the Power lead to 27-22.
However, Mobley proved to be too much. He was lights out shooting the ball, executing his one dribble pull up with ease. Glen Davis hit on a fade away jumper over Gooden to win the game 50-38, and the Power showed why, even without Maggette - last season's Most Valuable Player - they are the defending champions. They are a well balanced team with good outside shooting from Mobley and Richardson and interior play from Chris Andersen and Davis. Mobley led them in scoring with 28, hitting on 5 three pointers. He also had 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
For 3s Company, Drew Gooden led with 12 points, and former New York Knicks' 2nd round draft pick Dijon Thompson had 10 points.
Power's week two matchup has them against Tri-State next Sunday, and 3s Company faces the Killer 3s in Charlotte.
Game 3: Enemies (Gilbert Arenas, Lamar Odom, Royce White, Craig Smith, Perry Jones, Frank Robinson) vs Bivouac (Josh Smith, Will Bynum, Anthony Morrow, Dion Glover, CJ Leslie, Shawne Williams)
Inactive: Gilbert Arenas
What was supposed to be the night's most electric match up featuring the highest level of talent out of all of the night's games - a former scoring champion (Arenas), a two time NBA champion (Odom), and a former dunk champion (Smith) - turned out to be a game starred by an unlikely source.
Arenas was inactive, and Josh Smith was ejected early on in the game after nearly coming to blows with Royce White prior to an inbounds play. So it was Will Bynum who decided to make the night cap his own personal showcase. Bynum, the 36 year old Chicago native who spent the bulk of his NBA career with the Detroit Pistons (2008-2014), led his team in points with 22, icing the game with a jumper. He had 8 made field goals and hit on 1 three pointer.
Anthony Morrow, the 33 year old, who during his NBA days was known for his smooth three point stroke, chipped in with 16 for Bivouac. Leading the Enemies was former NBA forward Craig Smith, who scored 26 points and tallied 11 rebounds. Perry Jones added 10 and Frank Robinson had 14 rebounds for the Enemies.
The Enemies will play in the kick off game next week, the first game on Saturday in Charlotte vs the Ball Hogs. Bivouac plays next Sunday against the Ghost Ballers.
Sunday, June 23: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Triplets over Aliens 50-40
Killer 3s over Tri-State 54-52
Ghost Ballers over Ball Hogs 50-39
Game 1: Triplets (Joe Johnson, Al Jefferson, Alan Anderson, Jannero Pargo, Chris Johnson) vs Aliens (Andre Owens, Shannon Brown, Brandon Rush, Greg Oden, Ryan Hollins)
The Aliens got off to a fast 14-2 start, as Greg Oden had 8 early points and Triplets coach Lisa Leslie made a substitution, putting in Chris Johnson for Al Jefferson, in an effort to counter Oden with more athleticism. But then Joe Johnson got going after an 0 for 3 start. The former All-Star hit on a jumper, a floater, a two layups off of beautiful spin moves on Shannon Brown. The Triplets cut it to 4, 24-20, in large part due to Johnson's 10 point, 11 rebound first half - but the Aliens closed out the half with a Ryan Hollins jumper to make it 26-20.
Johnson continued his stellar play after the break, as he had 10 of the Triplets' first 17 points of the half. The attention that the Aliens' defense was paying to him allowed Jannero Pargo to hit on consecutive open looks from three. Johnson then iced the game with a three pointer and a runner off of an iso against Shannon Brown, to give the Triplets the 50-40 victory. The Triplets were dominant in the second half, outscoring the Aliens 30-14. Johnson finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds on 9 of 20 shooting. Al Jefferson contributed 11.
Brandon Rush led the Aliens with 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Andre Owens added 11. Oden, who got off to a strong start in the game, finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The Aliens play the Three Headed Monsters next week on Sunday in Philadelphia, while the Triplets play in Charlotte against Trilogy.
Game 2: Tri-State (Jermaine O'Neal, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson, Bonzi Wells, Yakhouba Diawara) vs Killer 3s (Stephen Jackson, Eddy Curry, Josh Powell, CJ Watson, Donte Greene, Franklin Session)
Inactive: Jermaine O'Neal, Bonzi Wells, Stephen Jackson
The Killer 3s led 8-0 off 6 points from CJ Watson. Trailing 10-4, Tri-State went on a 22-7 run to close out the first half, with Jason Richardson leading the way with 10 points, and Amare Stoudemire hitting his jump shot. Tri-State led 26-17 after one half.
The Killer 3s went on a 7-0 run to open the second half, with Josh Powell and Donte Greene hitting on nice jumpers. Tri-State ten responded with 7 of their own, with Stoudemire connecting on a free throw, Yakhouba Diawara hitting on a three and Nate Robinson banking home a jumper. After the Killer 3s went on a quick 5-0 run, Tri-State pushed the lead back up to 10.
However, the Killer 3s battled back after being down 44-35 late in the game, to get within 4 at 48-44. Then a great back and forth ensued to close out the contest.
Needing one basket to win it, Richardson airballed a jumper that was rebounded by the 3s' Powell and put back for a layup. Then Greene hit a three to give the 3s a one point lead, 49-48. Stoudemire then converted on a layup to make it 50-49 Tri-State. Franklin Session, the 3s' shifty guard, converted on free throws to give his team a 51-50 edge. He then airballed a layup that was cleaned up by Tri-State's Richardson, making it 52-51. Session then worked a pick and pop with Greene - who created space on the pop from Stoudemire - who nailed a three pointer from beyond the arc to give the Killer 3s the 54-52 win.
Powell led the Killer 3s with 18 points and 9 rebounds, with Greene scoring 14 and Session adding 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. For Tri-State, Stoudemire finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Richardson scored 17 points with 10 rebounds.
Tri-State plays Power next Sunday in Philadelphia, and the Killer 3s play next Saturday in Charlotte against 3s Company.
Game 3: Ghost Ballers (Mike Bibby, Ricky Davis, Carlos Boozer, Jamario Moon, Mike Taylor, Alex Scales) vs Ball Hogs (Brian Scalabrine, DeShawn Stevenson, Josh Childress, Jermaine Taylor, Will McDonald, Marcus Williams)
Note: Dusan Bulut, who was to play this season for the Ball Hogs, withdrew from the league after being told by FIBA that he would be ineligible to play in the Olympics if he played in the Big 3 (via eurohoops.net). Bulut was replaced on the Ball Hogs' roster by UConn product, and former New Jersey Net, Marcus Williams.
The Ball Hogs did not have enough offense in the game, particularly in the second half, to keep pace with the Ghost Ballers, who won the game 50-39. Jamario Moon, who spent last season with the Three Headed Monsters, scored 20 for the Ghost Ballers and added 7 rebounds. Mike Taylor added 15 and Ricky Davis added 10, as the Ghost Ballers had three players in double figures.
The Ball Hogs were led by Will McDonald, a 39 year old veteran who played most recently in the Japanese B League. The 6'11 forward finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. DeShawn Stevenson and Marcus Williams scored 12 each for the Ball Hogs.
The Ball Hogs play next week in the opening game of Week 2, in Charlotte vs the Enemies, while the Ghost Ballers play the Bivouac in Philadelphia on Sunday.
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