D-Fenders fall in D-League playoffs, swept by Santa Cruz Warriors

The Lakers didn’t make it to the postseason, dropping out early with an ever-growing list of injuries.

Their NBA Development League affiliate had a much better, 31-19 regular season, although the West Division-winning D-Fenders didn’t last long in the playoffs.

On Saturday night, the D-Fenders (second seed) were swept out by the Santa Cruz Warriors (sixth seed), falling 138-126 at home in El Segundo at the Toyota Sports Center.

Cameron Jones led the Warriors with 33 points. Seth Curry, who scored 44 points in Santa Cruz’s 140-127 Game 1 victory on Thursday night, contributed 23 in the winning effort.

Brandon Costner set a D-Fenders franchise playoff record with 39 points along with 11 rebounds. Terrence Williams scored 17, while former Lakers forward Shawne Williams had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The D-Fenders end with their second division title in franchise history and the team’s third-best overall record.

After the two-game sweep, the Warriors will face the winner of the contest between the Iowa Energy (31-19) and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (30-20), whose quarterfinal series is tied at one apiece.

The deciding game is to be played on Monday night in Iowa.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.