NBA Summer League 2016: Scores and Highlights from Wednesday's Las Vegas Results
The first round of the knockout phase at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas kicked off Wednesday, with eight teams looking to reach Thursday's second round, where the top eight seeds were awaiting.
Below, we'll break down all of the scores and highlights from a busy night in Las Vegas. You can find a full schedule for all of Wednesday's contests here, courtesy of NBA.com.
Atlanta Hawks def. Sacramento Kings, 81-61
Behind the Herculean efforts of rookie Taurean Prince, the Atlanta Hawks advanced to the second round of the Las Vegas Summer League bracket with an 81-61 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Prince (21 points, nine rebounds), fellow rookie DeAndre Bembry (13 points, five rebounds), Walter "Edy" Tavares (14 points, nine rebounds) and Brandon Ashley (10 points) all came up huge for the Hawks.
Bembry provided one of the highlights of the game with this monster dunk, via the team's Twitter account:
He was also the beneficiary of some nice ball movement:
Tavares, meanwhile, had a pair of strong slams as well:
It was a disappointing showing for the Kings, meanwhile, as just Retin Obasohan (12 points, three steals off the bench) and Duje Dukan (11 points) managed double-digit points. Rookie Skal Labissiere provided nine points, five boards and three blocks, and Isaiah Cousins chipped in with six assists.
One of those dimes concluded with this alley-oop, via the Kings on Twitter:
The Hawks will now face the Washington Wizards on Thursday in the round of 16.
Miami Heat def. New Orleans Pelicans, 81-77
The Miami Heat secured an 81-77 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday afternoon thanks to a game-high 18 points from Briante Weber.
The summer league standout drilled seven of 12 shots on the afternoon, while Okaro White poured in 17 points (7-of-11 shooting) and the game-winner off the pine:
Victor Rudd notched nine points, and Rodney McGruder chipped in eight points to help the Heat close out a close win.
No. 6 overall pick Buddy Hield struggled to the tune of 5-of-17 shooting from the field, but he did lead the Pelicans with 16 points—including a deep three-pointer that stretched the Pelicans' lead to five in the fourth quarter:
Alex Olah and Cheick Diallo added 14 points apiece for the Pelicans.
By virtue of the win, Miami will now meet the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoff bracket on Thursday afternoon.
Minnesota Timberwolves def. San Antonio Spurs, 80-71
Even without Kris Dunn (concussion) for the second consecutive game, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to stay alive in postseason play with a nine-point win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The star of the show was former Michigan State standout Adreian Payne, who was efficient with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He also contributed seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 31 minutes.
Payne's teammate, Tyus Jones, filled in nicely for Dunn and racked up 15 points and nine assists as the team's primary ball-handler. A 16-point outburst from Coty Clarke off the bench also helped stabilize a Timberwolves offense that shot 42.5 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three.
The Spurs, on the other hand, struggled when it came to consistency.
San Antonio shot a meager 38.9 percent from the floor and 25 percent from three. Jonathon Simmons (19 points) was the only Spurs contributor of note.
Dejounte Murray pitched in 14 points and six rebounds, but the lengthy floor general mustered just a single assist and two turnovers in the loss.
The Timberwolves will now meet the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
Philadelphia 76ers def. D-League Select, 108-71
The Philadelphia 76ers shellacked D-League Select, 108-71, and the romp could easily be labeled the Richaun Holmes variety hour after the second-year forward did a little bit of everything to set the tone for the victors.
In 21 minutes, Holmes racked up eight points, three rebounds, two steals and three blocks—one of which came in emphatic fashion, as the Sixers' official Twitter account showed:
Holmes also made his presence felt as a rim-runner, as the Summer League's Twitter account documented:
Sixers first-round draft choice Timothe Luwawu also showed up with a superlative effort. Over the course of 26 minutes, the French swingman scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Furthermore, the Sixers outscored D-League Select by a team-best 33 points with Luwawu on the floor.
Brandon Fields led the D-League stars with 15 points, but the developmental up-and-comers shot a putrid 34.3 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from three in the loss.
The Sixers will clash with the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Cleveland Cavaliers def. Boston Celtics, 98-94
Guard play carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-94 win over the Boston Celtics and set up a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Volume scorer Jordan McRae was stupendous in the victory, and he finished with a game-high 32 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field and 12-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line.
Rookie Kay Felder added 22 points as he demonstrated his explosive scoring potential, and Diamon Simpson scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the pine against a resilient Celtics side.
Rookie Jaylen Brown had a coming out party of sorts in the loss. The No. 3 overall pick not only scored 25 points (8-of-16 shooting), but he grabbed nine rebounds and collected three steals.
Terry Rozier was strong, as well, with 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, but the Celtics were plagued by 15 turnovers in the loss.
Utah Jazz def. Portland Trail Blazers, 86-71
The Utah Jazz rode the contributions of four double-figure scorers to a 15-point win over the Portland Trail Blazers to secure a spot as one of the final 16 teams in Las Vegas Summer League play.
Tibor Pleiss stood out for the Jazz with 20 points and eight boards, and his dominance on the glass set the tone as Utah out-rebounded Portland 47-32.
Former Ohio State star Aaron Craft joined Spencer Butterfield with 11 points off the bench, and the team's 8-of-15 shooting display from beyond the arc proved to be the difference as Portland clanged 20 of its 26 long-distance attempts off iron.
Diminutive scoring dynamo Pierre Jackson broke out for the Blazers with 18 points, while Noah Vonleh and Jake Layman each posted 10 points.
Vonleh's evening included one vicious throwdown, as documented by NBA TV:
Utah's next showdown will be Thursday against Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets.
Dallas Mavericks def. Milwaukee Bucks, 81-64
There was nothing pretty about it, but the Dallas Mavericks crept past the Milwaukee Bucks in a game that lacked offensive fluidity from both sides.
Although Dallas shot just 39 percent from the field, it was able to scrape by thanks to 14 points from Jonathan Gibson, 12 points from Vander Blue and 11 points courtesy of former Kansas star Perry Ellis.
Justin Anderson was surprisingly silent in the win, as he mustered a meager five points (2-of-10 shooting) and eight rebounds.
Thon Maker flashed some promise once again and tallied 17 points, including a pair of threes, but the rest of the Bucks' young contributors came up empty with a chance to advance.
Rashad James posted 15 points off the bench and Rashad Vaughn added 10 more, but the Bucks shot 30.1 percent from the field and 4-of-27 from three in a fairly listless effort.
A matchup with Bobby Portis, Denzel Valentine and the Chicago Bulls awaits the Mavericks on Thursday.
Golden State Warriors def. Houston Rockets, 80-76
The Houston Rockets tried to mount a second-half charge after falling behind early against the Golden State Warriors, but their comeback attempt fell just short as the Dubs escaped with a four-point victory to close out the day's action.
Royce O'Neale scored 15 points to help pace the Warriors, but the story of the day was the play of Keifer Sykes.
The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay product finished with 17 points, and he came up large when the Warriors needed him most. According to the team's official Twitter account, Sykes scored nine of Golden State's final 13 points to help seal the deal.
On the flip side, K.J. McDaniels starred for Houston with a game-high 25 points to complete a full line that included nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Montrezl Harrell showed up with 16 points and two blocks, including a monster chase-down effort, but the rest of Houston's supplementary contributors fell flat.
Golden State's reward for taking care of Houston will be a meeting with the Toronto Raptors.
You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
