NBA Summer League Day 6 Recap: Offense Wins The Day
LAS VEGAS - Now past the halfway point in Summer League out in Las Vegas, many teams around the league are not only piecing together their final roster plans ahead of training camp in several weeks, but they are getting a better idea of what each player on their Summer League team can bring to the table.
Plenty of guys fighting for roster spots and new contracts were featured in the first game of the day between the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors and as the day progressed, more and more players impressed.
Benedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers) and Tyrese Martin (Atlanta Hawks) are two rookies who played well for their respective teams, but the big storyline of the day was about every team’s offense.
Just two teams failed to score over 80 points on Tuesday and four teams scored above 100 points in their games!
You just never know what to expect in Summer League and during Day 6, scoring came at a premium.
Here is a game-by-game breakdown of what occurred during Day 6 of Las Vegas Summer League, as well as who the “big winner” of the day was.
Chicago Bulls 93, Toronto Raptors 83
The Toronto Raptors got off to a fast start to open Day 6’s action, as Dalano Banton was carrying the load offensively and finished with a game-high 18 points on 6-15 shooting, but the Chicago Bulls came away with the victory.
Carlik Jones shot a perfect 7-7 from the floor and ended up scoring a total of 17 points for Chicago, as rookie first-round pick Dalen Terry finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds.
Malcolm Hill, who played with the Bulls on a two-way contract last season, finished with 11 points and he hit two three-pointers. Both Makur Maker and Ethan Thompson had 10 points off-the-bench for Chicago.
Rookie big man Christian Koloko put himself in good spots defensively for the Raptors in this game, but he only ended up with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Next to Dalano Banton, Jeff Dowtin stepped up in the backcourt for the Raptors with 16 points and 3 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies 120, Brooklyn Nets 84
A total beatdown by the Memphis Grizzlies, this first game in Cox Pavilion on Day 6 was full of energy and some highlight reel plays.
The Grizzlies took control of this game early on and Santi Aldama had things clicking, as he scored a game-high 31 points and added 9 rebounds to his resume for this game as well.
A fan-favorite for Memphis in Kenny Lofton Jr. finished the game with 11 points and 8 rebounds off-the-bench, as rookie David Roddy had a solid showing offensively with 20 points.
The Brooklyn Nets do not have much firepower on their Summer League roster, but Cam Thomas continues to develop into a scoring machine, as he went for 29 points on 9-19 shooting, 11-13 from the free-throw line.
Second-year players in Day’Ron Sharpe and David Duke Jr. continued their development this summer as well with 13 points and 12 points, respectively.
Atlanta Hawks 95, Miami Heat 88
Picking up their first win at this year’s Summer League, the Atlanta Hawks held off the Miami Heat late in the second-half.
AJ Griffin has still yet to make his debut for the Hawks, but second-round pick Tyrese Martin has been getting better and better every time he steps out on the floor.
Against the Heat on Tuesday, Martin ended up with 21 points on 9-14 shooting and he also had 6 rebounds. Down the stretch, the rookie wing hit a couple of big shots to keep the Hawks’ lead out of reach of the Heat.
Chaundee Brown Jr. also had yet another solid outing here in Las Vegas, finishing the game with 18 points for the Hawks.
For Miami, Javonte Smart was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points and Kyle Allman Jr. contributed with 14 points off-the-bench.
Indiana Pacers 101, Detroit Pistons 87
Bennedict Mathurin has continued to look every bit like a top pick in this year’s draft, as he had yet another solid showing for the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons.
Scoring 20 points on 5-9 shooting, 9-10 from the free-throw line, and finishing with 3 steals as well, Mathurin recorded his second 20-point game in Las Vegas and is looking like a key starter for the Pacers already.
Next to Tyrese Haliburton, Benedict Mathurin could very well turn into the next big thing in Indiana. Isaiah Jackson and Terry Taylor each had 14 points in the Pacers’ win with Taylor also having 9 rebounds.
For the Detroit Pistons, Buddy Boeheim ended up being the team’s leading scorer with 18 points on 6-8 shooting, 3-5 from three-point range.
Some of the well-known Pistons that were participating in Summer League in Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Livers and Saben Lee did not play on Tuesday.
Rookie center and the 13th overall selection in this year’s draft in Jalen Duren finished with 12 points and 3 rebounds while playing 23 minutes against the Pacers.
Boston Celtics 103, Golden State Warriors 92
Getting revenge on the Golden State Warriors for their NBA Finals defeat, the Boston Celtics took this game in Las Vegas behind three different guys scoring 20-plus points for them.
Justin Jackson (24 points), Juhann Begarin (21 points) and Mfiondu Kabengele (20 points) all started on Tuesday for the Celtics and they all had big nights.
Along with scoring 20 points, Kabengele also added 13 rebounds to his name. The former first-round pick looking to get back into the league is making a strong case to earn some type of NBA contract.
Celtics rookie JD Davison played 29 minutes, scoring just 5 points on 2-8 shooting and finishing this game against the Warriors with 9 assists.
For Golden State, James Wiseman had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in just over 20 minutes and Jonathan Kuminga had yet another big night.
Coming off of a 28-point performance the other night against the San Antonio Spurs, Kuminga followed that game up with a 29-point performance on 11-22 shooting Tuesday night. Moses Moody also had another big scoring night, finishing up with 21 points on 6-19 shooting.
The future definitely looks bright for the Golden State Warriors, as the rich will be getting richer given the development of James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
Los Angeles Lakers 83, Los Angeles Clippers 72
In one of the final games of the night, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated their bitter rivals in the Los Angeles Clippers 83-72.
Cole Swider, who had been playing well for the Lakers recently, only had 8 points against the Clippers on Tuesday night, but Mason Jones really stepped up coming off-the-bench.
Jones finished the game with a team-high 15 points and he also registered a game-high 10 rebounds. Javante McCoy also contributed to the win, coming off-the-bench and delivering with 14 points on 7-10 shooting.
For the Clippers, B.J. Boston and Jay Scrubb carried the load offensively, both scoring 15 points and Boston also bringing in 9 rebounds.
Rookie Moussa Diabate continued to showcase his low-post scoring and rebounding tendencies by getting 9 points and 8 rebounds in about 26 minutes. He also hit his only three-point attempt in the game.
Phoenix Suns 105, Dallas Mavericks 78
The final game of the night featured the Phoenix Suns coming out on top of the Dallas Mavericks 105-78. This one was never really close, as Phoenix got out to an early lead and never seemed to back down.
They outrebounded the Mavericks 50-34 over the course of the game and Louis King once again led the way for them on offense with a team-high 14 points. King also had 10 rebounds, as did Olivier Sarr.
For the Mavericks, rookie Jaden Hardy had 11 points and Jerrick Harding finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-13 shooting, 3-6 from three-point range.
Now three games into Summer League, Dallas has yet to pick up a win, but they have learned a lot about Jaden Hardy and his potential out on the perimeter as another secondary playmaker.
With Jerick Harding also playing well, he could very much have a future either on Dallas’ roster or down in the G League with them.
Day 4’s Biggest Winner: Justin Jackson - Boston Celtics
There were quite a few intriguing performances on Day 6 of Summer League, but Justin Jackson with the Boston Celtics really stood out to me.
Jackson signed with Boston for Summer League just a day or so ago after competing for Team USA a few weeks ago and he looked really impressive in his first outing with the Celtics.
Against the Golden State Warriors, Justin Jackson recorded a team-high 24 points on 9-14 shooting, 5-10 from three-point range.
His awareness out on the perimeter to take high percentage shots definitely stood out and with teams always looking for lengthy wings that can knock down shots in succession out on the perimeter, Jackson could have very well earned himself some more eyes with this performance.
Others who stood out during Day 6’s action include Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State Warriors), Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies) and Carlik Jones (Chicago Bulls), all of which had really solid offensive outings.
