Lightning save best for last, win NBLC title

The London Lightning erupted for a record-setting 49 third-quarter points in a lopsided Game 5 win, 126-88, over Windsor. One night after everything had gone wrong, everything went right for London Friday as they became back-to-back champs.

* * *

There was no expecting it.

Not the fact that they could win – but the manner in which they did.

The London Lightning, on the final night of a hard-fought series with the Windsor Express in this year’s NBLC Finals, found a new gear. In the 3rd quarter Friday night, they erupted for a record-setting 49 points, stunning the Express and virtually guaranteeing them back-to-back titles before the fourth quarter even had to be played.

When the final whistle did blow, it was a lopsided 126-88 win for the Lightning at Budweiser Gardens, delivering the franchise its sixth league championship in 10 completed seasons. And it was perhaps the least likeliest.

Just 24 hours earlier, nearly everything – save for Jermaine Haley Jr. and his 41 points – had gone wrong in a Game 4 loss. They shot poorly, they defended poorly, they turned the ball over. They trailed 18-2 to start the game at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, and it didn’t get much better from there.

And then Friday happened.

A switch was flipped. And nearly everything went right. The Lightning held the Express to under 90 points for the first time this series. They shot well. They outrebounded their opponents. And they dominated in the paint. Most importantly, they played with energy and outworked the Express on the second night of a back-to-back.

Mike Nuga put the exclamation mark on the win with 1:28 left in that unforgettable third quarter. After the rookie hit his fourth 3-pointer of the quarter, he grabbed a loose ball off a Terry Thomas block and went coast-to-coast, throwing down a game-punctuating dunk. It was in that moment that the players and fans were on the exact same page: ‘We’ve won this thing.’

The dunk had made it 94-62, a wild score for a series that had been played so tight up to that point. It extended a London run to 23-8 – in the best quarter of basketball the team had played all season.

No, it wasn’t Jordan Burns, a finalist for league MVP, that got it done. He’s been gone for weeks with an injury. It wasn’t big man Amir Williams, who the Lightning also lost from their roster down the stretch. It wasn’t even Terry Thomas, last year’s NBLC Finals MVP.

It was Jeremiah Mordi. It was Mike Nuga. It was Cam Lard and Kur Jongkuch, players with particular sets of skills that can be a nightmare for teams. That is, if they’re clicking. In the second half Friday night, they were all clicking.

It was the Nuga and Mordi show in the third. Both players scored 16 points in the frame as the Lightning shot an eye-popping 63.3 percent (19-for-30) from the field, hitting seven of 10 three-point attempts.

Mordi, who’d be the first to say he put up a dud in Game 4 Thursday night in Windsor, bounced back with a huge deciding game Friday, tallying 37 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double. Nuga finished with 23 points and six rebounds. Both players hit five three-pointers.

Jermaine Haley Jr., who was named Finals MVP, scored 17 (on 7-for-11 shooting) with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Thomas contributed 17 points as well, to go with eight boards, three steals and three blocks.

It wasn’t a blowout from the beginning. Though they never trailed the entire contest, London led by just six after the first quarter. They nearly doubled that lead to 11 heading to the locker room at halftime, but it was still a very competitive game. The Lightning had held Windsor to a series-low 37 first-half points, but the Express seemed due for a run to tighten things up.

It didn’t happen. Instead, London scored 49 points in the third quarter – one more than they’d scored in the first two quarters combined. In doing so, they shocked their visitors, who’d played them so even in virtually every other quarter in the series.

Nuga hit threes and slashed his way to the hoop; Mordi hit fadeaway jumpers; Cam Lard hit a trio of shots down low; Jongkuch grabbed an offensive board and slammed home a dunk. Everything came together.

Lightning head coach Doug Plumb would admit that, one thru six, Windsor probably has more talent on its roster than London’s current top six. But he got everything out of his players. They maximized their talents when they needed to this season. And when it counted most, with the championship on the line, they stepped up and produced their most impressive showing of the year.

That’s what wins championships. The London Lightning are now savouring their sixth title in franchise history. Was it the least likeliest? Maybe. But it’s perhaps also the sweetest.