With Lakers struggling, D-Fenders clinch D-League’s West division

The Lakers (25-48) won’t make the postseason but their NBA Development League counterpart will.

The D-Fenders (30-17) clinched the D-League’s West division on Monday night, defeating the Reno Bighorns (27-21), 119-108.

Former Laker Shawne Williams scored 19 while Brandon Costner led the team with 24.

Williams is averaging 20.4 points a game through 19 appearances with the D-Fenders, significantly more than the 5.6 a night he tallied through 36 games with the Lakers.

The D-Fenders have one home game Wednesday at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, against the Erie BayHawks, then they’ll wrap up the regular season with two road games on Friday (Fort Wayne Mad Ants) and Saturday (Iowa Energy).

The Mad Ants (32-16) have clinched the East Division as the only team in the D-League with a better record than the D-Fenders.

The Energy (29-18) will make the postseason but have yet to lock down the Central Division with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (29-19) and Sioux Falls Skyforce (29-19) right behind.

The D-Fenders missed the 2012-13 playoffs entirely with a 21-29 record.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.