Qwest Arena hosted a party Friday night - a party more than a decade in the making and one that culminated with an NBA Development League championship for the Idaho Stampede.
A 108-101 victory over the Austin Toros in Game 3 of the best-of-three series made the Stampede champions for the first time in their 10-year history.
'This thing still hasn't sunk in,' Stampede coach Bryan Gates said after receiving hugs from just about everyone at the party.
The party had plenty of guests of honor.
There was Randy Livingston (6'4''-G-75, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: LSU), the veteran point guard who has played more games in a Stampede uniform than any other player and appeared in 11 consecutive NBA seasons.
He said Friday's game was his last.
'This is the most amazing way to end,' said Livingston, who had eight assists and six points. '... Any championship on any level is one you relish, one you savor. You can't take it away.'
There was guard Mike Taylor (6'2''-G-86, college: Iowa St.), the sparkplug who had come off the bench several times this season to provide his team with some electricity. Friday night, he definitely lit it up again.
Taylor hit four 3-pointers in a row in a span of less than 3 minutes in the fourth quarter to push Idaho's lead to an insurmountable 95-77 with 8 minutes, 23 seconds left in the game.
He finished with a team-high 27 points after going 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.
'After I hit the first couple I kind of knew they were going to go in when I shot it,' Taylor said. 'It was just kind of like that feeling you get in practice when you hit 12 in a row.'
The D-League doesn't award a Finals MVP, but Taylor was certainly the MVP of Game 3.
'It was Mike Taylor tonight,' Gates said. 'But, overall, we'd be nowhere without No. 32 (Livingston).'
There was Cory Violette (6'8''-C/F-82, college: Gonzaga), who fell one rebound short of posting a double-double in all three Finals games.
Violette has won a championship in Boise before - when he was a sophomore at Bishop Kelly High.
'It gets better and better the older you get, especially when you get paid a little bit of money to do it,' said Violette, who had 20 points, nine rebounds and hit a prayer from deep in 3-point territory that went in as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.
There was another local product in former Boise State standout Jason Ellis (6'7''-F-82, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Boise St.), who posted a double-double in the first half with 11 rebounds and 10 points.
'It's big to be able to bring home a championship to Boise,' Ellis said. 'At the beginning of the season there was a question of whether they brought in three local guys to just sell tickets, but over the course of the season we proved that we can play. (Ex-Bronco Roberto Bergersen (6'6''-G/F-76, agency: Priority Sports, college: Boise St.)) and Cory showed it right out of the gates, and I had to wait my turn.'
And, as far as managing investor Bill Ilett was concerned, there were the season-high 4,124 fans who attended the party.
'It's so much about the fans,' he said. 'We've built a great fan base here, and we're looking forward to the weekend after Thanksgiving. We're ready to go again.'
Gates said earlier this week that his whole season would be judged by the final two games of the D-League Finals.
But after the coach of the year has some time to reflect he will realize this season was about more than just Idaho's final two contests.
The Stampede put together 18 wins in a row, more than any other team in D-League history.
Idaho clinched the West Division title with the best record in the league.
Idaho finished with the best winning percentage in D-League history (72 percent).
The Stampede had 21 regular-season home wins, setting a league standard.
Livingston was named to the D-League first team, and Lance Allred (6'11''-C-81, agency: SportsTalent, college: Weber St.) was named to the second team. Violette and Mouhamed Saer Sene (7'0''-C-86) were honorable mentions, and Sene was named the co-defensive player of the season.
Allred was called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers and is signed with the Cavs through next season.
Courtesy of Statesman
