LA Clippers two-way RayJ Dennis makes home debut in G League win

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Just 12 games into the NBA G League season, the San Diego Clippers are still currently in the fight for a spot in the NBA G League Winter Showcase.

As a reminder, the G League season is divided into two parts. First is a 14-game mini-tournament where eight teams with the highest record compete in a neutral site bracketed tournament, with the victors being crowned Winter Showcase Champions. In layman's terms, this is the G League's version of the NBA Cup.

The first takeaway is that with two games left for San Diego to qualify for the Winter Showcase tournament, they will most likely need to win out to just have a chance. It's not guaranteed, but winning both games puts them at 10-4 and hopefully in a tournament spot.

"(Tonight) was a good defensive effort. We were able to get some stops and pull out the win," said Clippers head coach Paul Hewitt. Cam Christie, LA Clippers guard, was on assignment and was active for the matchup against the Warriors. "(Christie) just needed to get some run. He hasn't played much lately (up in LA). We wanted to make sure he stays ready so that when the big team needs him he's ready to go. He rebounded (the ball well) today," noted Hewitt.

Though the big moment of the night wasn't actually having Christie there -- RayJ Dennis was signed to a two-way spot for the Clippers and made his home debut. Dennis was actually apart of last season's roster, before being signed by the Indiana Pacers. He had been with the Pacers through the end of last season and into this one before he was waived. The Clippers, who behind the scenes owned his G League rights, wanted him back and thus signed him to a two-way (replacing Jahmyl Telfort). Telfort was then converted to a regular G League contract.

"Always feels good after a win," said Dennis. "Glad to be back with the organization. I loved it here my first year, so really just happy to be back."

His departure from Indiana was quick, but his return was fast as well. Dennis noted that the NBA is still a business, and that he enjoyed his time with the Pacers, but is grateful the Clippers still valued him as a player and brought him back. Dennis finished with 15 points and three steals.

LA Clippers rookie Yanic Konan Niederhouser had a highlight of his own after finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds. His poster dunk lit up the crowd during the second half.

The Clippers will rematch the Warriors on a back-to-back. Tip-off will be 6:00 p.m. Sunday night at Frontwave Arena.