NBA Summer League 2015: Friday Scores, Highlights and Las Vegas Highlights
The NBA summer league is winding down, as the tournament quarterfinals continue on Saturday. Before arriving at that moment, though, 16 teams not fighting for a championship took center stage to provide one last look at their talented rosters.
Even though every player has something to prove in the summer league, this is really a chance for rookies to show where their skill are at. It's not a perfect way to analyze these young athletes, though it's not meaningless.
Fortunately, there are still more than three months before the regular season begins. Teams will have plenty of time to work with their players, as well as determine if strong performers from this league have what it takes to make it in the NBA.
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It's all about scouting and player development this time of year. The final scores are just an added bonus that tell a small part of the story.
Friday Results
| Philadelphia 76ers vs. Houston Rockets | 76ers def. Rockets, 100-96 |
| Sacramento Kings vs. Miami Heat | Kings def. Heat, 73-68 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | Cavaliers def. Timberwolves, 78-73 |
| Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers | Jazz def. Lakers, 84-78 |
| Brooklyn Nets vs. USA NBA D-League Select Team | D-League Select def. Nets, 85-64 |
| Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks | Knicks def. Bucks, 83-76 |
| Washington Wizards vs. Denver Nuggets | Wizards def. Nuggets, 97-89 |
| Portland Trail Blazers vs. Toronto Raptors | Blazers def. Raptors, 72-64 |
Game Recaps
Cavaliers def. Timberwolves, 78-73
In the final summer league game for top pick Karl-Anthony Towns, he didn't go with a bang. The Minnesota Timberwolves were upended by the Cleveland Cavaliers 78-73.
Towns could muster just nine points on 2-of-8 shooting and grabbed four rebounds in nearly 25 minutes. This was coming off his best game , scoring 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds against Portland.
Minnesota's 2013 second-round pick Lorenzo Brown had a strong showing with a game-high 19 points and added three steals for good measure.
John Shurna was Cleveland's best offensive player, scoring 14 points, all four of his field goals were from three-point range and grabbed six rebounds. The former Northwestern standout came into the game shooting 36.8 percent from downtown.
76ers def. Rockets, 100-96
The Philadelphia 76ers were carried by the scoring duo of JaKarr Sampson and Vince Hunter en route to a 100-96 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Sampson and Hunter combined to score 47 points on 18-of-27 shooting. No one else on the 76ers reached double-digits in scoring, though Pierre Jackson was a strong facilitator with seven assists. Hunter also added 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
The revelation in this game was Sampson, who was averaging 9.3 points per game and shooting less than 30 percent this summer. He's not prone to huge scoring outbursts, per NBA.com's Max Rappaport:
Despite the lack of offense from the entire Philadelphia roster, K.T. Harrell did provide one of the day's best highlights, via NBA.com:
76ers top pick Jahlil Okafor, who has played well in five games this summer, did not suit up for today's game to rest.
The Rockets were more balanced with their attack, getting three players to reach 20 points and four scoring in double-figures. Rookie Montrezl Harrell led the charge with 24 points on 12-of-25 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.
As good as Harrell was, Alan Williams was the star for Houston. The UC Santa Barbara product had 22 points and 21 rebounds in the loss.
B/R's C.J. Moore chimed in with his thoughts on what Williams could mean to a team:
Even though it's easy to nitpick how much emphasis is placed on team chemistry, if Williams shows this kind of tenacity to go along with his high character, some team will be able to find a spot for him.
Kings def. Heat, 73-68 (OT)
In one of the strangest summer leagues games ever, the Sacramento Kings rallied from a 25-point halftime deficit to knock off the Miami Heat 73-68 in overtime.
The Kings were down 27-9 after the first quarter and 51-26 at halftime, but responded by outscoring the Heat 27-4 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to two points. Four players reached double-digits in scoring, led by 14 from DeAndre Liggins.
Also of note for Sacramento in the victory was the performance of first-round pick Willie Cauley-Stein, who had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
The former Kentucky star showed off his full array of skills in one play, via NBA.com:
Defense has always been Cauley-Stein's calling card, but if he can add consistency to his offensive performance, he could end up being the steal of this year's draft as the sixth overall pick.
In a losing effort, Miami's second-round pick Josh Richardson had his best game of the summer with 23 points and four steals.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel had this question in regards Richardson's stellar game:
The Heat have built a solid roster with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic. They also drafted Justise Winslow, who didn't play today, and Richardson. If depth is one area they are looking to improve, the former Tennessee star has made a compelling case with his shooting touch and defensive ability.
Jazz def. Lakers, 84-78
D'Angelo Russell dropped 21 points and all five Los Angeles Lakers starters finished in double-figures, but the Purple and Gold dropped their summer league finale to close out their Las Vegas slate 1-4.
Russell scored his game-high 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting (1-of-4 from three) as he peppered the Jazz with jumpers, but he still wasn't satisfied with his play out in Sin City, according to Lakers.com's Mike Trudell:
Jordan Clarkson, who totaled 12 points, five boards and four dimes, provided the highlight of the game with an absolute poster over Jazz forward Jack Cooley:
Utah would get the last laugh, though.
First-round pick Trey Lyles scored a team-high 20 points (7-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three) and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the win.
Lyles fits the physical profile of a stretch-4, but after he shot 13.8 percent from beyond the arc during his freshman season at Kentucky, the Jazz will need to spend countless hours developing his long-range stroke.
However, if that hard work pays dividends in the form of a polished catch-and-shoot release a few years down the line, the Jazz could have a gem on their hands.
D-League Select def. Nets, 85-64
The Brooklyn Nets rested Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Markel Brown, Willie Reed, Ryan Boatright and Earl Clark against the D-League Select squad Friday evening, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that they were trounced from start to finish.
Taylor Griffin—brother of Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin—was one of five players on the winning side to finish in double-figures. The former Oklahoma Sooner dropped 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-9 from three.
D-League Select also outscored the Nets by a team-best 17 points during Griffin's 20 minutes on the hardwood.
Matt Bouldin and Justin Dentmon led the way with 16 points apiece, while Scotty Hopson added 10 points and six boards in the squad's final summer league appearance.
Josh Gasser did the heavy lifting for Brooklyn, dropping 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting off the bench, but Brooklyn hit just 32 percent of its total looks on the night.
Knicks def. Bucks, 83-76
No Kristaps Porzingis, no problem for the New York Knicks against the Milwaukee Bucks.
While the Knicks chose to rest the No. 4 overall pick after he averaged 10.5 points on on 48 percent shooting over his first four summer league games, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Jerian Grant and Ricky Ledo came to play.
Antetokounmpo led the Knicks with 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting, and his plus/minus rating of plus-14 was a game-high.
Two of his most impressive points came in transition, as the 23-year-old used his insane length to deflect a pass and take it the length of the floor for a powerful two-handed finish:
Grant ran the show for the Knicks, finishing with 11 points and six dimes.
As the Wall Street Journal's Chris Herring pointed out, grant may be an immediate upgrade over Tim Hardaway Jr., whom the Knicks dealt to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the Notre Dame product:
Ledo chimed in with 15 points, seven boards and five assists while shooting 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-8 from three.
While the Bucks fell in consolation play, Rashad Vaughn flashed impressive scoring chops once again. In 32 minutes, Vaughn dropped a game-high 20 points on 6-of-19 shooting, although he did hit just 2-of-10 three-point attempts.
All in all, the Knicks should be proud of what they accomplished in Las Vegas. Porzingis flashed a deft shooting touch from beyond the free-throw line, Grant gained experience as a floor general in a pro-style offense and Antetokounmpo made strides toward earning one of the team's final roster spots.
Suddenly, the future's looking a bit brighter in the Big Apple.
Wizards def. Nuggets, 97-89
After struggling in consecutive games, Washington Wizards first-round pick Kelly Oubre bounced back with a stellar effort against the Denver Nuggets.
Oubre scored a personal tournament-high 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three. To put that last number in context, Oubre combined to hit three triples over his first four summer league games.
"I've been working on my shot all week at the gym, it felt great seeing it fall tonight," Oubre said following the win, according to the Wizards' official Twitter account.
As Bullets Forever noted, Oubre just looked more comfortable within the flow of the offense:
Nuggets rookie Emmanuel Mudiay received the day off to rest, and Oleksiy Pecherov made up for his absence by pouring in 21 points while pulling down eight rebounds. Erick Green double-doubled as well, posting 17 rebounds and 10 boards to cap off a solid showing in Vegas.
However, we'll give Mudiay a few bonus points in theory for rocking a phenomenal Dikembe Mutombo throwback jersey, as NBA TV displayed:
While Denver led by 12 entering halftime, Washington simply dominated the second half. The Wizards outscored the Nuggets by six in the third quarter and proceeded to blow them out of the water with a 34-20 advantage in the final frame.
Blazers def. Raptors, 72-64
Friday night concluded with the Andre Dawkins show.
As the Portland Trail Blazers finished with a 3-3 summer league record, the former Duke Blue Devil dropped a game-high 24 points—doubling up Toronto's highest scorer.
In 35 minutes, Dawkins shot 9-of-23 from the field, including 6-of-14 from three, as he shouldered the offensive burden. Luis Montero was solid with 17 points and nine boards, but his six turnovers didn't help matters.
Former Sixers first-round pick Arnett Moultrie added nine points and four rebounds while Malcolm Thomas chipped in eight points, 10 boards and a block.
Both squads shot 35 percent from the field, but the Raptors struggled mightily from distance. Bruno Caboclo and Michale Kyser led the way with 12 points apiece, Toronto shot 13 percent (3-of-23) from beyond the arc as a team.
Summer League action will continue Saturday when the eight remaining teams clash in the quarterfinals. The San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics will start things off at 4 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
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