Ryan Kelly fills up the stat sheet in D-Fenders’ loss

Lakers rookie forward Ryan Kelly scored 21 points in defeat as the D-Fenders (0-2) fell to the Warriors on Saturday in Santa Cruz (4-1), 122-112.

Kelly is currently on D-League assignment, playing his second game for the D-Fenders, who travel to Bakersfield on Sunday to play the Jam (1-3).

Instead of sitting on the bench with the Lakers on their recent three-game road trip, Kelly had the opportunity to play over 39 valuable minutes with the D-Fenders.

His time on the court with the Lakers has been limited to just two games and seven total minutes.

On Saturday, Kelly had a strong overall performance, with eight rebounds and seven assists. He scored his 21 points on 7-17 shooting from the field.

Through two appearances with the D-Fenders, Kelly is averaging 22.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 45.5% from the field.

D-Fender Malcolm Thomas led all scorers with 31 points along with 13 rebounds. Cameron Jones scored 27 to lead the Warriors.

Former Lakers guard Kareem Rush scored seven for the D-Fenders on 2-11 shooting.

Seth Curry, brother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, scored 17 with nine assists -- along with nine turnovers.

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