Another interested day in the Las Vegas Summer League, as Ben Simmons shows more than his passing for once, Kris Dunn displays his ability to finish around the rim, and Cristiano Felicio suggests there’s more to expect from him this season.
The Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 88-80. As far as rookies are concerned, the Hawks had two of them in action: DeAndre Bembry, scoring 7 points to go with 6 rebounds and 7 assists in an impressive performance, and Isaia Cordinier, scoring 4 points in 13 minutes off the bench. Former Providence player Bryce Cotton led the Hawks with 21 points, the Wizards got 21 from Kelly Oubre Jr.
The D-League team beat the Milwaukee Bucks 91-86. Thon Maker, 19 or 23, looked very good, with 17 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocks, while second round pick Malcolm Brogdon did well too, scoring 14 points. Rashad Vaughn led the Bucks with 24 points.
The Toronto Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 82-80. Norman Powell led the Raptors with 29 points, while Jakob Poeltl was their only rookie in action. The former Utah center finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 24 minutes. For the Timberwolves, Kris Dunn had no problem being THE man, scoring 21 points, and thus far having a fantastic summer league session.
The Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 85-73, led by Sam Dekker with 19 points. Chinanu Onuaku continued his offensive struggles with just 2 points, but he did grab 9 rebounds. The Kings were led by the impressive Malachi Richardson, scoring 20 points, and David Stockton finished with 14. Georgios Papagiannis was the other rookie in action, finishing with 8 points and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes.
The Utah Jazz beat the New Orleans Pelicans 79-72. The Jazz were led by second round pick Tyrone Wallace, who scored 15 points. Marcus Paige finished with 10 and Joel Bolomboy added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Buddy Hield was the only Pelicans draft pick in action, scoring a team high 21 points, including five three pointers.
In the most intriguing match of the day, the Chicago Bulls beat the Philadelphia 76ers 83-70. Ben Simmons had to become a scorer due to the Bulls defense, and finished with an impressive 18 points. Cristiano Felicio was the man for the Bulls, scoring 17 points to go with 10 rebounds and 4 assists, while Denzel Valentine had a much better performance compared to yesterday, scoring 13 points.
The Portland Trail Blazers continue to look bad in the Summer League, losing 85-69 to the San Antonio Spurs. Dejounte Murray didn’t do much for the Spurs, shooting 3-for-13 to score 8 points. Once again, it was Kyle Anderson leading the way with 23. Portland were led by Noah Vonleh, scoring 16 points.
The Phoenix Suns beat the Boston Celtics 87-74, in another showtime performance by Devin Booker, scoring 24 points. Dragan Bender had a rough time with just 3 points in 30 minutes, but Marquese Chriss scored 15 and also grabbed 14 rebounds. Jaylen Brown continues to struggle for Boston, not making a single field goal, and finishing with 5 points.