The Kawasaki Brave Thunders had more points through three quarters than the visiting Shiga Lakestars accumulated in Friday's game.
Not a good sign for the Lakestars.
Kawasaki cruised to an 83-60 victory in the series opener at Todoroki Arena. The Brave Thunders improved to 15-7 at home and extended their winning streak to seven games.
Shiga (13-30) was held to nine fourth-quarter points and shot 38.5 percent from the floor, including 5 of 20 from 3-point range.
Nick Fazekas paced the Brave Thunders (30-13) with 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Josh Davis finished with 16 points and 11 boards and Naoto Tsuji poured in 14 points, including 4 of 7 from long range, and dished out seven assists, while Ryusei Shinoyama scored 10 points. Well-traveled former NBA forward Lou Amundson, a UNLV alum, sparked the hosts off the bench with seven points and 12 boards plus a block in 13-plus minutes.
Yuma Fujii chipped in with six points and four assists for Kawasaki, which led 44-33 at halftime.
D'or Fischer led the Lakestars with 12 points. Faye Samba had 11 points and Yusuke Karino added 10 points. Narito Namizato contributed eight points, six assists and three steals, tying Koyo Takahashi and Venky Jois for the team lead in that category.
In the paint
The Japan Basketball Association on Friday announced that former star guards Makoto Hasegawa and Cohey Aoki have been added to the men's national team's coaching staff for the upcoming FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup.
Atsushi Kanazawa, a former bench boss for the Rizing Fukuoka (now known as the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka, a powerhouse B2 team) and Takamatsu Five Arrows (now the Kagawa Five Arrows), is listed as the operations chief.
Hasegawa will serve as an adviser coach, while Aoki, a bj-leauge legend, is one of two support coaches.
The tournament is scheduled for April 29 to May 1 in Shenzhen, China.