GRAND RAPIDS, MI (11-07-26) – The Grand Rapids Gold opened their home schedule Saturday at Van Andel Arena with a promising first quarter, but the Sioux Falls Skyforce took control in the middle periods and handed the Gold a 130–116 loss in NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament action.

Boopie Miller (#2) led Grand Rapids with 23 points, while Sioux Falls center Vladislav Goldin (#50) finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Goldin’s double-double helped the visitors overcome an early deficit and maintain their advantage through the second half.

Grand Rapids led 27–26 after the opening quarter, giving the home team an encouraging start to its season. The Skyforce answered with a 35-point second period, outscoring the Gold by nine and taking a 61–53 lead into halftime.

The separation continued after the break. Sioux Falls scored 37 third-quarter points while Grand Rapids managed 29, extending the visitors’ advantage to 98–82. Across the second and third quarters, the Skyforce outscored the Gold 72–55, turning a one-point deficit into a 16-point lead.

Grand Rapids produced its highest-scoring quarter in the fourth, finishing with 34 points. However, Sioux Falls added 32 of its own, preventing the Gold from making up enough ground to threaten the final outcome.

For head coach Ryan Bowen, beginning his second season leading Grand Rapids, the opener demonstrated the importance of sustaining defensive execution. The Gold won the first and fourth quarters, but allowing at least 35 points in each of the middle periods proved too costly.

Miller’s scoring gave Grand Rapids an offensive foundation, but the Gold needed more stops to make their late production count. Sioux Falls scored at least 32 points in each of the final three quarters, repeatedly answering the home team’s efforts to reduce the deficit.

The game began the franchise’s fifth season at Van Andel Arena and sixth as the Denver Nuggets’ NBA G League affiliate. It also marked the return of professional basketball to downtown Grand Rapids following a season of significant organizational recognition.

The Gold entered the campaign as the reigning NBA G League Franchise of the Year. More than 117,000 fans attended their games during the 2025–26 season, placing the organization second in league attendance and providing a strong community foundation for the new schedule.

Saturday’s result dropped Grand Rapids to 0–1 in Tip-Off Tournament play, while Sioux Falls began 1–0. The opening tournament consists of 14 games before team records reset for a separate 36-game regular season.

That structure gives the Gold an early competitive stretch in which to develop consistency before the regular-season standings begin anew. Their opening performance offered productive stretches on offense, but the decisive middle quarters established the immediate challenge: pairing that scoring with the defensive stops needed to control a complete game.