New York Knicks (3-2) 109 vs. Washington Wizards (4-1) 107
The Cox Pavilion crowd was disappointed not to see John Wall & JaVale McGee in action with both sitting out Washington’s final game, but they were still treated to an exciting game to open day 9. The New York Knicks finished their summer league schedule with a 3-2 record, handing the Wizards their first loss with a 109-107 comeback win in overtime.
Both teams exchanged three’s in the extra period before Cartier Martin was controversially whistled for a charge advancing the ball. Martin and the entire Washington bench were in disbelief with Martin asking the ref how she could make that kind of call.Toney Douglas tried his best to keep the Wizards in the game, missing 3 free throws in the final 10 seconds of play. Douglas’ misses gave Trevor Booker a chance to win the game but his shot from mid-court banked off the rim at the buzzer. A relieved Douglas finished with 19pts 3rebounds 6 assists and 2 steals, saying this was the first time he’d ever missed 3 free throws in a row, after the game.
Leo Lyons showed some the ability he displayed last year in Vegas, scoring inside and out and also strongly finishing a break. Lyons had a team-high 21 points 2rebs 2assits and 2steals.
Andy Rautins again hit his opening shot but it was his only field goal of the game. Rautins finished with a disappointing 3pts 2rebs and 2 assists.
Bill Walker and Landry Fields contributed 11 and 14 points respectively.
The absence of Wall allowed Martin and Lester Hudson to take more of a leading roll offensively. Martin had a game high 24 points on 9/16 shooting. He turned the ball over 6 times but also collected 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Hudson was on from long range today, nailing 5 three’s on his way to 19pts and 9 assists.
Kevin Palmer had a strong game with 21 points 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
Rookie Trevor Booker had his best game by far with McGee sitting out. Booker bricked his first shot and finished with 15points 7rebounds 2 assist and 2 steals.
Miami Heat (4-1) 73 vs Cleveland Cavaliers (3-1) 69
JJ Hickson scored just 4 points in 20 minutes as the Cavs lost their first game of the summer league to the team that took their chosen one this offseason, the Miami Heat. Apparently the Cav’s SL players didn’t get the memo as their wasn’t much fire shown to win this one as there had been in their previous 3 games.
Nether team shot the ball well as Antywane Robinson (15) and Danny Green (17) led their respective teams in scoring.
The game was tight throughout the third quarter with Miami pulling away in the fourth.
Heat early second rounder Dexter Pittman registered 6 pts, 4 rebs, 7 fouls and 4 turnovers in just over 16 minutes. Not the most impressive stat line for a rookie who frankly needs to work harder on his conditioning.
Jarvis Varnado registered 10 rebs and 8 pts in 30 minutes.
Toronto Raptors (5-0) 101 vs New Orleans Hornets (0-5) 93
The Toronto Raptors left Vegas with a perfect 5-0 record, overcoming a tough New Orleans Hornets 101-93 at the Thomas & Mack center. Without stars DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems, Ronald Dupree led Toronto with 24 points 8 rebounds and 2 assists.
Center Cheikh Samb had a breakout game, finishing strongly around the basket for a line of 19 points 6 rebounds and 7 blocked shots. Raptors second round pick [player: Solomon Alabi] is still a work in progress but despite being 7”1, he failed to collect a single rebound in 18 minutes. He finished with just 6points 1 block and 8 fouls.
First round pick Ed Davis was strong in his limited court time today, finishing with 14pts 6 rebounds and 1 assist. The Raptors received a strong bench contribution from Bobby Brown who has been playing well all week. Brown dropped 15points on 7/11 shooting. Michael Roll made some nice shots but couldn’t produce a big night for his UCLA fan club who were sitting courtside.
Quincy Pondexter had his biggest offensive output of the week going for an impressive 26 points on 7/15 shooting from the field. He was well supported by Maurice Ager who contributed 21points 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Ager stayed down following a rough landing on a missed dunk attempt.
Craig Brackins posted a double double with 10 points and 10 boards. He did his best Rasheed Wallace impersonation, launching a total of 9 attempts from long range. He connected on just the two with some shocking misses and shot a dismal 3/14 overall.
San Antonio Spurs (4-0) 77 vs Los Angeles Clippers (1-3) 62
The Spurs made short work of the Clippers who shot just 34% on the day and committed 24 turnovers.
After his flashy opening game facing John Wall, Eric Bledsoe has struggled mightily, having his worst game yet with 7 pts on 1-5 fg with 8 turnovers to 4 ast. It’s obvious Bledsoe is a ways off before he can be counted on to provide steady playmaking from the point guard position at the NBA level. He has registered 28 turnovers in 4 games (7 per).
Clippers 8th overall pick Al-Farouq Aminu had his best game of the summer league. Aminu had 16 points and 4 reb and did so in a more manageable (4-9 fg). His shooting numbers have been his biggest weakness, but today fouls were the big problem as he finished with 8. On the positive side, he did his damage in just 24 minutes and got to the line 9 times.
Alonzo Gee continues to state his case for an NBA roster spot. his 20 points (2-3 3p) led all scorers and he’s developed a steady outside shot to go along with his great explosiveness and strength. He was given a 10 day contract at the end of last season, and is likely to get a full one year contract this year based on his SL play.
Sacramento Kings (4-1) 76 vs Chicago Bulls (1-3) 75
Tyrese Rice’s only point of the game turned out to be an important one as the Sacramento Kings came from behind to run down the Chicago Bulls 76-75. Rice converted one of two in the final seconds to give the Kings the one point win.
Second year man Omri Casspi was huge off then bench, scoring 22 points in 24 minutes. Casspi hit a mid-court shot on the 3rd quarter buzzer to bring the Kings to within 8. He went 6/12 from the field (5/93fg) with 5 rebounds. Dionte Christmas also played a strong game off the bench for his 13pts 2 rebs 1 assist.
The first half performance of DeMarcus Cousins was very similar to that of his last game, going 0/8 today. He ended up with just the 10 points (3/15 fg) to go with his 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Cousins had an overall rough day, showing poor shot selection and electing to settle for outside shots and difficult one-foot fadaways. He was also on the receiving end of three dunks courtesy of Samardo Samuels and Chris Richard (9pts 3rebs). The Kings second round pick Hassan Whiteside added 10 points, 3 rebounds and his usual 3 blocks.
Samuels continues his quality play and didn’t do his chances of a training camp invite any harm with his performance against the #5 pick Cousins. Samuels frustrated Cousins on his way to 17pts and 7 rebounds. For a second year player, James Johnson has been disappointing this summer league, failing to average double figure scoring. Johnson shot a poor 2/14 from the field today for his 10 points.
The undrafted Matt Bouldin contributed 12pts 1rebound 2 assists and 2 steals with his 6 turnovers.
Portland Trailblazers (3-1) 76 vs Minnesota Timberwolves (1-3) 75
With Brandon Roy supporting from the bench, Portland improved their summer league record to 3-1 with a scrappy win over the Minnesota Timberwolves 67-60. The game was marked with poor shooting with neither team able to crack the 40% mark. Hard nosed rookie Luke Babbitt led the Blazers with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Babbitt was strong today, asserting himself offensively despite shooting just 5/17 from the floor. Babbitt has a fairly quick release from the perimeter where he knocked down 3 from 6 attempts. Dante Cunningham got off to a quick start, doing a bit of everything on his way to 14 points 9 rebounds 3steals and 2 blocks.
Portland’s 2009 second rounder Jeff Pendergraph gave Minnesota trouble on the glass at both ends of the floor. He should have easily had a double double after shooting 3/11 from the field. He finished with 7 points 12 rebounds (4OR) and 4 assists.
Blazer guards Armon Johnson and Patty Mills both reached double figures, however Johnson was much more efficient getting there, going 5/9 from the floor. Mills brought great energy but struggled with his outside shot today, going 1/7 from deep and 5/18 overall. Mills had an impressive offensive rebound and put back & totaled 4 offensive rebounds.
Patrick OBryant put in a nice performance, using his length to score 16 points and pull down 10 rebounds. O’Bryant was 7/10 for the game and also swatted 3 shots.
Undrafted North Carolina product Deon Thompson again had a strong game, finishing with 13 points 12 rebounds and 2 assists.
Atlanta Hawks (2-2) 97 vs D-League Stars (0-4) 86
The Hawks built a sizable first half lead and cruised to victory behind the excellent play of their young backcourt of Jeff Teague and Jordan Crawford.
They went into the half with a 20 point lead (50-30) and stretched that to 24 at one point. Credit the D-Leaguers for continuing to battle and closing the gap to single digits in the fourth, but it was too little too late for them.
Jeff Teague was impressive with a team high 19 points (7-11 fg) and once again did a solid job of making decisions and limiting mistakes (4 ast to 1 to).
Jordan Crawford‘s game was on, and though he’s proving to be streaky, when he’s on his game, as he was today (18 pts, 6-11 fg), he’s very effective.
For the D-Leaguers, Mark Tindale led all scorers with 21 points off the bench going a perfect 11-11 from the line.
PF Curtis Withers (19 pts 7-8 fg) and SG Mike Gansey (15 pts, 4-10 fg) contributed positive numbers as well.
