TULSA, OK. – The Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League announced Thursday that tickets are now on sale for game one of the 2010 D-League Finals. The 66ers reached the finals for the first time in the five-year history of the franchise after compiling a 27-23 record, a franchise record. They will face off with the West Conference champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers (39-18) at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Tulsa Convention Center.

Fans can purchase tickets from the BOK Center box office, online, at the Tulsa 66ers office located at 2727 E. 21st Street, Suite 500 or by calling the 66ers office at 585-8444. For the third time this playoff season the team is offering a ticket package that includes a seat, hotdog and soda for $11 which is available only from the team office. The 66ers office will be open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in order to accommodate all ticket requests.

The format for the playoffs allowed the top three seeded teams to hand-pick their first round opponents with each series through the finals being in a best-of-three setup with the higher seed hosting the second and third games of each series. The top seeded Iowa Energy chose the seventh place Utah Flash, while the second seeded  Vipers picked the sixth place Reno Bighorns and the third place Austin Toros selected the fifth seeded Dakota Wizards. Tulsa entered the playoffs as the eighth seed and were paired with the fourth seeded Sioux Falls Skyforce in the first round.

The 66ers got off to a solid start in their series with the Skyforce, winning the opening game 119-109 at the Tulsa Convention Center. Tulsa then stumbled on the road in game two, losing by seven points before coming back to clinch the series and move into the semi-finals with a 111-101 win in game three. The 66ers were then rewarded for the first playoff series win in franchise history with a second-round series with the top-seeded Iowa Energy. 

Tulsa put forth a valiant effort in game one of the series, ultimately coming up short 107-102  before 5,288 rowdy fans at the Tulsa Convention Center, which was yet another franchise record. The Sixers then went on to win a pair of games on the road to secure their spot in the finals. Their 117-106 and 127-122 road wins shocked the hometown fans and ended the Iowa Energy’s 40-14 season.

The Vipers punched their ticket to the finals by way of two 2-1 series wins over the Reno Bighorns and Austin Toros. They are led by forward Michael Harris who has averaged 29.3 points through four playoff appearances. The first-year player from Rice was named to the D-League All-Star team and was recently named as the league’s Most Valuable Player.

The 66ers have faced the Vipers six times this season and hold a 2-4 record against them with both wins and one loss coming at home. The series will be televised nationally on the VERSUS network (Cox channel 251, DirecTV channel 603 and Dish Network channel 151. Games two and three (if necessary) will be played at the State Farm Arena in McAllen, Texas on Tuesday, April 27 and Thursday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m.