Bandits hold off Richmond

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2000 | 10:14 a.m.

For three quarters against the Richmond Rhythm Tuesday night, the Las Vegas Bandits looked like the Harlem Globetrotters beating up on the Washington Generals.

They were that good.

An uninspired fourth quarter by the Bandits allowed the Rhythm to chip away at Las Vegas' 32-point lead entering the final period, but the Bandits still cruised to a 130-115 victory before an estimated 1,000 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"We played great defense," Bandits coach Lionel Hollins said. "Offensively, we attacked the basket and ran and ran.

"Our transition offense was very good. The fourth quarter, obviously we got back on our heels a bit. I was pleased with everything for three quarters. It was outstanding basketball."

The Bandits (5-2) won their third straight while Richmond dropped to 3-4.

Hollins graciously pointed out that Richmond wasn't as sharp as it was when it beat the Bandits in their home opener because the team had to miss celebrating the Christmas holiday and fly into Las Vegas a few days earlier.

But with the way the Bandits executed on both ends of the floor, it probably wouldn't have mattered which Richmond team showed up. An 18-4 run by the Bandits to start the second quarter put the game out of reach.

The Bandits scored at will on spectacular fast break opportunities showcased by point guard Eddie Gill's 10 assists. Gill wasn't the only one with passing fever. Forward J.R. Henderson had six assists to go along with his 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Bandits finished up with 14 more assists than the Rhythm.

Defensively, Las Vegas pounded the glass as if there was a $1 million bonus for each rebound, and had 16 more than Richmond. Damian Cantrell did his usual dirty work, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds, while Jamal Livingston did a nice job helping to contain Richmond big men Derrick Johnson and Darius Cook. Livingston, acquired by the team last week, scored 10 points and led the team with four blocks.

Though it was a team effort, the night belonged to Bandit shooting guard Mike Jones. Jones had 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

"I got into a rhythm early," Jones said. "Then the guys started looking for me.

"We do a good job of getting the ball to the person with the hot hand and tonight, I was lucky I had it."

Richmond's Kurt Lee helped his team make a run in the fourth quarter by scoring 29 of his 32 points. Lee opened up with a 3-pointer then continued his scoring barrage with an assortment of layups, jumpers and even a hook shot.

In the first meeting between the two teams, it was 5-foot-11 point guard Kareem Reid and Johnson who punished the Bandits with a solid inside outside game. When Reid wasn't sinking 3-pointers, Johnson had an easy time penetrating and beating the Bandits' stagnant defense inside.

The Bandits didn't want it to happen again.

"We watched film of the first game and our defense was just terrible," Jones said. "We wanted to go out and establish a defensive presence early.

"That helped us get a lot of easy baskets in transitions. We had two days off so we were real fresh and just ready to run up and down. It was a very satisfying win because we wanted to establish our presence at home."