London Lions are starting from behind in their second leg BBL play-off semi-final on Thursday night as they lost in their first leg game, 92-80 to the Plymouth Raiders.

Both sides spent the start of the game weighing each other up in typical play-off basketball fashion, with neither side taking an early advantage.

It only took until the second quarter however for the Raiders to really assert their dominance and take a commanding 12-point lead going into the half.

The Lions were not ready to give up that easily and rallied back in the third quarter to make it a one possession game with 10 minutes to go.

Plymouth held on though and kept the Lions at bay to restore their 12-point lead at the end of the game.

As the Lions live and die by the three, this was a game where they just couldn’t lift the lid off the basket from deep, converting less than a quarter of their 33 attempts.

The threes might not have been falling tonight but one major positive the Lions can take into their next game is their brightest of sparks off the bench in Jules Dang Akodo.

He scored 14 points, only second highest in the Lions squad to Deandre Liggins’ 16.

His efficiency from behind the three-point line added to his effectiveness on the offensive end and is proof of the shear depth that this Lions team has at its disposal.

Another advantage for the Lions could also be that the Raiders have the oppositive when it comes to squad depth.

Coach James only reached for two of his bench guys tonight, meaning that the starting five played heavy minutes.

The Lions will no doubt hope for this to fatigue Plymouth to make the 12-point difference seem even less daunting to overcome and reach the BBL Playoff Final.