Albuquerque, NM – Dec. 18 – The second meeting of the season for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (Tbirds) and the Austin Toros, ended in overtime with the Toros winning 127-121. The game was hard fought by both teams, very physical and with a lot of personal fouls. By the end of the game Marcus Williams, from the Toros, had fouled out and David Noel, Keith McLeod, Will Conroy and Kris Clack, had fouled out for the Tbirds.

The Toros started off strong and held the lead throughout the first quarter, 36-28. The Tbirds worked hard in the second to bring the score to within nine points, Tbirds 55 – Toros 64. First half point’s leaders were David Noel with 11 for the Tbirds, and Charles Gaines and Malik Hairston both with 15 points.

Will Conroy, of the Tbirds, scored three points to start the third quarter, that was dominated the by the Tbirds, outscoring the Toros 31 to 17. The fourth quarter was a mad dash to the goal by each team as they flip-flopped the lead multiple times. With 2.3 seconds to go in the fourth, the Tbirds were ahead 106 to 109. However, a final attempted three-pointer by Toros forward Malik Hairston, tied the game taking it to overtime.

The game ended in overtime, with the Toros winning 127 – 121.

High scorers for the game were Malik Hairston, from the Toros, with 33 points and David Noel, from the Tbirds, with 35.

This game was the first School House Jam for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds and 3,495 people were in attendance, mostly students from around the greater Albuquerque area. The next School House Jam is on March 10, 2008 at 10:30am, against the Iowa Energy.

The next Tbirds home games are on Friday, December 19, against the Toros, and Friday, December 26, against the Idaho Stampede. Both games start at 7pm. For tickets call 505.265.DUNK (3865) or go online to www.abqtbirds.com.

The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Having recently completed its seventh season, the NBA D-League’s goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 16 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact 15 percent of players on 2008 end-of-season NBA rosters spent time honing their skills in the League. In addition, it has produced current NBA coaches and 25 percent of the NBA’s referees. The NBA D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like NBA Futurecast, the live web-streaming of all games available free at nba.com/futurecast. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.

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