Morris has huge night, but Vipers lose

HIDALGO – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers found a go-to man. The problem is that he probably won’t be wearing a Vipers uniform for too much longer.

Houston Rockets’ assignee Marcus Morris tallied 33 points and 16 rebounds in his Vipers’ debut on Friday night. He nearly knocked down the game-winner at the buzzer, but his 3-pointer off a clean look was short, and the Dakota Wizards came away with a 105-103 victory at State Farm Arena.

“I thought it was a good game,” said Morris, a rookie from Kansas who was last season’s Big 12 Conference player of the year. “These are great guys to play with. I wish I would have made the last shot for these guys. They are great teammates. They gave me the ball toward the end.”

Morris played 37 minutes in his first significant action since playing for the Jayhawks last season. The Rockets selected Morris 14th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, and he had only played sparingly in three games before his assignment earlier this week.

“In the overall big picture, it was a great night for the Houston Rockets,” Vipers coach Nick Nurse said. “They send him down here and he plays (37) minutes and did a lot of really, really positive things. He’s going to get better.”

Nurse designed the final play to have Morris take a three at the buzzer.

“I think he’s a really good shooter, and I thought he could get it off,” Nurse said. “He almost hit it. That was the play. He got a good look at it, and he needed another inch and a half.”

Nurse expects Morris, who made 3 of 6 from the arc, to remain with the Vipers for tonight’s home game against the Wizards and then for next week’s NBA D-League Showcase in Reno. After that, he expects the Rockets to re-evaluate things.

But for now, the Vipers will try to take advantage of Morris’ talent And, Morris is trying to take advantage of the chance to play again.

“Being able to play and being able to interact with new teammates,” Morris said of the benefits of his Vipers’ assignment. “Just to get a chance to get out there and play and compete. I haven’t really been out there since college.”

The Vipers (10-7) saw their three-game winning streak go away. The Wizards had 54 points in the paint with most of those coming on transition baskets.

“A lot of it came off our poor offense,” Nurse said. “We just handed it to them for a layin a bunch of times. They ran it in transition on us pretty good as well. That we need to shore up. When we got back and guarded, we did a pretty good job.”

Edwin Ubile had 26 points to lead the Wizards (7-6). Maurice Baker had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Greg Smith, a 6-8 forward had 16 points, in his fourth game with the Vipers. Damian Saunders, another 6-8 forward, was also playing in his fourth game.

“We’ve got a bunch of new guys we’re trying to work in,” Nurse said. “It threw our timing off just a little. Just enough against a veteran team that played really well to get you beat.”

David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com