Potent 3-point shooting carried the Levanga Hokkaido past the Akita Northern Happinets on Tuesday night in Sapporo.
The hosts sank 10 of 20 3s in a 66-65 victory, completing a two-game series sweep.
The hosts needed the long-range scoring — every 3-point basket in fact — on a night when their traditional offense was below average. They were held to 12-for-37 shooting from inside the arc.
Six Levanga players made at least one 3-pointer. Point guard Asahi Tajima was the top perimeter marksman for Hokkaido (20-31), making 4 of 5 3s in a 14-point performance. Teammate Takanobu Nishikawa drained two shots from beyond the arc and contributed nine points in the series finale. Jahmar Thorpe and Daisuke Noguchi also both scored nine points for the Levanga. Thorpe added seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Hokkaido's Jordan Bachynski blocked two shots.
Scott Morrison paced Akita (15-36) with 17 point and 13 rebounds. Leo Lyons had 14 points, Shigehiro Taguchi added 13 and Seiya Ando contributed 10.
The Happinets were 13 of 23 at the free-throw line.
Monday rewind: Hokkaido picked up a win in the series opener, topping Akita 73-69.
The Levanga outscored the visitors 40-18 in the paint.
Daniel Miller paced the hosts with 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Takehiko Orimo had 13 points, Bachynski put 12 points on the board and Nishikawa added 10 points. Ryota Sakurai contributed nine points and five assists. Tajima made four steals.
Morrison led the Happinets with 20 points and 13 rebounds and Ando scored 14 points. Lyons and Daichi Taniguchi finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Akita had twice as many turnovers (14) as Hokkaido (seven).