In front of more than 15,000 fans, Trilogy dispatched Ghost Ballers in the BIG3’s Week 6 marquee game to maintain its unblemished record and cement the team as the class of the inaugural league. In a potential playoff preview that involved heated taunts back and forth, Trilogy pulled away in the second half behind a team effort that featured three players, Al Harrington, James White and Rashad McCants, with double figures in points.
Facing elimination from BIG3 Championship contention, 3’s Company and Killer 3s both saved their seasons behind standout performances from Andre Owens and Stephen Jackson, respectively.
In the day’s finale, 3’s Company beat the odds to pull a huge upset and stay alive for the Championship. The team took the court on the brink of elimination with a 1-4 record and without Player/Coach and Captain Allen Iverson who was a surprise absence. Facing one of the BIG3’s best teams, Power, 3’s Company rallied for a dramatic overtime win. With 3’s Company on the verge of sewing up a victory, hometown hero and Power star DeShawn Stevenson nailed a huge 4-point shot that catapulted Power back into the game at 48-47. A layup by Rasual Butler brought the favorites within a point from the win when Al Thornton put 3’s Company back on top with a layup to make it 50-49. Just moments later, Owens capped a wild day for the team right after when he drilled a game-winning three-pointer.
With Player Captain Chauncey Billups back in the lineup, Killer 3s put themselves in position to make a stretch run toward the Championship with a convincing 50-40 win over the Ball Hogs. A fiery Stephen Jackson put the Killers 3s on his back with a stat-stuffing 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. In his return to action, Billups drained a four-pointer as part of his eight points.
In the day’s second game, the duo of Rashard Lewis and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf overcame a rusty start to earn the second playoff berth in the league. Tri-State raced out to a 15-9 lead in the first half behind seven early points from Bonzi Wells. 3 Headed Monsters fought back to tie the game at 23 before taking a halftime lead (25-23). The teams went back-and-forth in the second half — the lead changed nine times throughout the game — before 3 Headed Monsters’ star pairing fueled a 10-4 run to close out the game and earn their ticket to the Championship Bracket in Seattle.
Among the 15,125 — the league’s second-largest crowd (Week 1, 15,177) — were NBA Champion and former Dallas Maverick Jason Terry, LL Cool J, hip hop artist Trae the Truth and rapper Dorrough, who performed his hit ‘Ice Cream Paint Job’ at halftime of Game 4.
BIG3 Week 6 games will air on Fox Sports 1 Monday evening at 8 p.m. ET. BIG3 Week 7 will bring professional basketball to college basketball’s iconic Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. on Sunday, Aug. 6.
GAME 1: Killer 3s (50, 2-4) vs. Ball Hogs (40, 1-5)
Killers 3s earned a do-or-die win to keep their Championship hopes alive when they dispatched the Ball Hogs 50-40. Player Captain Chauncey Billups, back in the lineup after a two game absence, lived up to the Mr. Big Shot name on his jersey with the first 4-pointer of the day to give the Killer 3s a 20-12 lead. Billups’ return opened up the Killer 3s offense, allowing fellow player captain Stephen Jackson to pour in 23 points. Reggie Evans contributed 15 points and collected a Week 6-high 18 rebounds in the win.
Ball Hogs coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry invited fellow Hall of Famer Nancy “Lady Magic” Lieberman to be assistant coach for the game.
GAME 2: 3 Headed Monsters (50; 5-1) vs. Tri-State (45; 1-5)
3 Headed Monsters shook off early rust to earn a workmanlike 50-45 victory over Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving and Bonzi Wells’ Tri-State. BIG3 leading scorer Rashard Lewis continued to post MVP-like numbers, pulling the team to victory with a BIG3 Week 6-high 25 points (tied with 3’s Company’s Andre Owens). Sharpshooter Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf paired with Lewis to add 14 points. The duo took over the game in the final stretch with a 10-4 run to close out Tri-State and secured the team’s playoff berth.
GAME 3: Trilogy (51; 6-0) vs. Ghost Ballers (36; 3-3)
In a potential playoff preview against the Ghost Ballers, Trilogy demonstrated the depth of its roster which has established it as the team to beat. The team received balanced scoring with Al Harrington, James White and Rashad McCants all tallying double digits to help Trilogy run away with the win in the second half. The day’s most heated game featured both sides jawing at each other throughout the game with White and Ghost Ballers’ Mike Bibby participating in intense trash talk.
GAME 4 : 3’s Company (53; 2-4) vs. Power (49; 4-2)
For the second straight week, the final game of the day went down to the wire. Missing Player/Coach Allen Iverson, 3’s Company rallied to upset the then-second place Power in a taut back-and-forth game. 3’s Company breakout star Andre Owens powered the win with a Week 6-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. The team received a season-best game from Al Thornton, who added 16 points.
Down 48-43, hometown hero and Power star DeShawn Stevenson drained a huge 4-point shot to bring the team within one point. New addition Rasual Butler followed with a layup to put Power on the verge of escaping with a win. The team was thwarted by Thornton and Owens who had their eyes on 3’s Company’s second win of the season. With the team already at the game-winning 50 point threshold but needing to win by two, Owens put an exclamation point on the day with a game-winning three to earn the emotional win.
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