NBA Summer League 2019: RJ Barrett, Knicks Lose, De'Andre Hunter Debuts, More

The 2019 Las Vegas NBA Summer League rolled on Sunday with a jam-packed slate of games split between the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion in Paradise, Nevada.

All 30 NBA teams are represented at the annual showcase of the league's rising stars and players hoping to earn roster spots. National teams from China and Croatia are also involved to bring the field to 32. The Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons entered the day as the only 2-0 teams.

Let's check out the complete set of scores from Day 3 of the tournament, which will be updated at the conclusion of each game. That's followed by a recap of the action.

Sunday Summer League Results

San Antonio Spurs 106, Charlotte Hornets 96

Brooklyn Nets 74, Croatia 58

Minnesota Timberwolves 90, Atlanta Hawks 66

Denver Nuggets 84, Orlando Magic 79

Cleveland Cavaliers 82, Chicago Bulls 75

Miami Heat 93, Utah Jazz 81

Phoenix Suns 105, New York Knicks 100 (OT)

Portland Trail Blazers 97, Houston Rockets 87

Memphis Grizzlies 87, Los Angeles Clippers 75

Spurs 106, Hornets 96

The Spurs pulled away late in a back-and-forth contest with the Hornets that saw 17 lead changes, including four in the final quarter, to pick up their first win of the summer league.

Quinndary Weatherspoon was an all-around force for San Antonio with 19 points, which matched first-round pick Keldon Johnson for the team high, to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ben Moore (17 points and eight boards) and Luka Samanic (16 points) also played well.

Miles Bridges put together a second straight strong performance in Vegas by tallying 23 points, seven rebounds and three steals. The Hornets will be counting on the 12th overall pick in the 2018 draft to take a big step forward next season, and the early summer-league signs are promising.

Cody Martin (15 points), Josh Perkins (14) and Dwayne Bacon (14) also reached double figures in scoring for Charlotte, but the team as a whole shot just 43.2 percent from the field.

The Spurs are back in action Monday to take on the Toronto Raptors. The Hornets also return to the floor the same day for a clash with China.

Nets 74, Croatia 58

The Nets overcame a poor offensive performance by turning up the heat defensively to ease past Croatia.

Rodions Kurucs and Dzanan Musa each scored 15 points for Brooklyn. But not other player reached double digits in scoring as the team shot 41.4 percent from the field, including 22.7 percent from three-point range. Jarrett Allen did record seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Antonio Vrankovic, who's trying to prove himself after playing an extremely limited role across four years at Duke, led Croatia with 12 points. Zeljko Sakic chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards. The European squad connected on just two of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc.

The Nets will battle the Washington Wizards on Monday. Croatia gets a day off before trying to bounce back Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Timberwolves 90, Hawks 66

The Minnesota Timberwolves wasted little time establishing themselves as the dominant side in Sunday's 90-66 win over the Atlanta Hawks, outscoring the latter by 13 in the first quarter alone and then putting things on relative cruise control the rest of the way.

A couple of 2018 draft picks led the charge.

Josh Okogie, the No. 20 overall selection in last year's draft, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Keita Bates-Diop, a second-round pick in 2018, added 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals while underscoring the ability of both players to impact the game in a number of ways.

Atlanta received 16 points and eight rebounds from Omari Spellman, continuing the theme of 2018 draftees playing well. He picked up the slack for De'Andre Hunter, who struggled his way to six points and four turnovers on 2-of-8 shooting from the field.

The rookie will be under the spotlight throughout summer league after leading the Virginia Cavaliers to the national title, and he will look to improve on Sunday's effort as play continues.

Nuggets 84, Magic 79

The Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic brought some drama to Las Vegas after three straight double-digit victories in the earlier games, and the former was able to deliver with an 84-79 win.

Orlando pulled within four after falling behind by 14 with less than 90 seconds remaining, but a clutch block from Jarred Vanderbilt and stifling defense on the final possession helped Denver hold on for the win.

Terence Davis impressed for the victors with 22 points behind 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range, while Brandon Goodwin added 16 points and seven assists as a floor general who didn't hesitate to look for his own shot when the opportunity presented itself.

That was enough to hold off the Magic, who received 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals during a balanced showing from Erik McCree.

Cavaliers 82, Bulls 75

The Cleveland Cavaliers used a 14-0 run in the final seven minutes of Sunday’s contest to clinch an 82-75 victory over the Chicago Bulls after the two Eastern Conference sides traded blows for much of the game.

Chicago’s Coby White was the main attraction entering the contest as the No. 7 pick of the draft, especially since Cleveland’s Darius Garland—the No. 5 pick—didn’t play. White finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, but the Cavaliers kept him in check at times by forcing seven turnovers and challenging his four missed three-pointers.

The Bulls will ultimately need better outside shooting and fewer turnovers from their point guard of the future, but the North Carolina product showed flashes of his promise for the rebuilding team.

As for Cleveland, it didn’t need Garland on the floor with Naz Mitrou-Long leading the way.

The Iowa State product poured in 21 points to go with eight assists and five rebounds while making all three of his three-point attempts.

Heat 93, Jazz 81

The Miami Heat used a strong second quarter and kept the Utah Jazz at bay from there on the way to a 93-81 victory.

The trio of Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson spearheaded the winning effort for the Heat by stuffing the stat sheet. Nunn led the way in the scoring department with 22 points and eight assists, while Robinson tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Herro, who was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2019 draft, finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists even though he was just 1-of-8 from three-point range. The Kentucky product will have plenty of opportunities to hone that shot in Las Vegas, but his ability to impact the game in a number of other ways proved critical.

Willie Reed posted a double-double on the other side for the Jazz with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Suns 105, Knicks 100 (OT)

The New York Knicks were in control for much of Sunday's contest but blew a double-digit lead in the second half and eventually fell 105-100 to the Phoenix Suns in overtime.

James Palmer Jr. led the way for the Suns with 23 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, but it was the play of RJ Barrett on the other side that took center stage. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft struggled for his second straight game in Las Vegas, finishing with eight points while shooting 3-of-15 from the field, 1-of-5 from deep and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.

It was a concerning outing after he went just 4-of-18 from the field and 1-of-8 from three-point range in Friday's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The fact it is just summer league means Barrett will have the greenest of green lights to work out some of his struggles, but he hasn't displayed the type of efficiency for which the Knicks are looking after they committed to him in June's draft.

New York at least received 30 points and a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation from Ignas Brazdeikis, but it wasn't enough to overcome Phoenix.

Trail Blazers 97, Rockets 87

In a matchup that sounds more fitting for the second round of the Western Conference playoffs than a summer league clash in July, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Houston Rockets 97-87.

Gary Trent Jr. did his best Damian Lillard impression with 31 points, six rebounds and five assists behind a blistering 7-of-8 shooting from three-point range for the Trail Blazers. He and Anfernee Simons (16 points) were the only Portland players to score more than 10 in the win, but they combined for enough firepower.

On the other side, Chris Clemons notched 22 points and four steals, while Isaiah Hartenstein added 22 points and six boards in defeat.

Grizzlies 87, Clippers 75

The Memphis Grizzlies’ defense set the tone from the start in Sunday’s 87-75 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, holding the latter to a mere eight points in the first quarter.

While the Clippers climbed back to within one point by halftime, the Grizzlies outscored them by 10 in the third quarter and continued to play strong defense until the final whistle. Los Angeles shot just 32.2 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from deep and struggled to create open looks against its Western Conference foe.

The one-two punch of Brandon Clarke (17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field) and Grayson Allen (17 points and three assists) provided enough offense with the Grizzlies playing so well on the other end. 

Mfiondu Kabengele was the one Clipper to consistently find his stroke against the Memphis defense and finished with 19 points and five boards behind 8-of-16 shooting from the field.