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Portland Trailblazers (4-1) 81 Miami Heat (3-2) 55
Boxscore

The Portland Trailblazer finished 2012 summer league crushing the Miami Heat 81-55 in the first game of day 9. Will Barton was easily the best player on the floor, finishing with a game high 27 points, and earning our player of the day.

Barton has improved with each game and led the Blazer’s who rested their big name players, including Damian Lillard. Barton started early with a strong drive, showing nice body control. He shot the ball well, ran the floor and again displayed his vision with some nice passes. He took a shot from Dexter Pittman contesting a rebound and was slightly shaken up early in the second quarter. Despite Lillard not playing, Barton did his best to entertain the healthy crowd flushing a pass off the backboard from Dee Bost in the final quarter. He shot 10/17 from the floor, including 4/8 threes and also added 2 assists.

Bost didn’t have the best shooting numbers going 6/18 but was also impressive today in his final game. He ran the team well, did a good job organizing the Blazers offensively and was active all game off the ball, making decisive cuts. He picked up 14 points 3 rebounds 7 assist (2TO’s) and 2 steals.

LaMarcus Reed III was a nice surprise off the bench for Portland. Reed had only played 5 minutes prior to today and scored 9 of his 14 points in the second quarter. He connected on back to back shots, got a dunk off a steal and drained a three. The Texas-Arlington product certainly got the attention of fans & scouts who were present.

Ekene Ibewke did some good things in his 31 minutes for his 8 points and 10 rebounds. He was active on the boards and had some good looks.

Miami rested point guard Norris Cole and spread minutes evenly in their final game. Dexter Pittman top scored for the Heat with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Pittman was called for a flagrant foul in the 4th quarter after a heavy foul on Barton. Barton had a rough landing which didn’t turn out to be serious.

Second rounder Justin Hamilton didn’t show a great deal for Miami, collecting just 8 points and 3 rebounds. He doesn’t have the best looking shot but his approach on the defensive end was impressive.

Portland completes their schedule with a 4-1 record while Miami finish summer league going 3-2.

Dallas Mavericks (4-1) 82 San Antonio Spurs (2-3) 76
Boxscore

Game 2 in COX pavilion saw the first overtime game of this year’s summer league, with The Dallas Mavericks taking a tight 82-76 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Recently signed Maverick Jae Crowder led the Mavs with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Crowder had the chance to be the hero but his 15 foot jumper missed, sending the game into OT.

Crowder was quiet in the middle quarters but was more assertive in the 4th, often finding the smaller Dwight Buycks and Cory Joseph defending him. He shot 5/13 from the floor but used his strength well to get to the line, where he shot 8/10. On one occasion he showed poor body language when Micah Downs threw up a shot instead of looking to Crowder in the post. Crowder also recorded 6 rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes.

Justin Dentmon was busy all game for Dallas, driving to the basket aggressively and getting to the line. He finished a nice drive where he threw it up high to beat the help defense of Tyler Wilkerson. He had 16 points (4/11FG 8/8FT) 7 boards and 2 assists.

Downs (9pts 4/9fg) made some nice plays throughout the game, hitting a tough contested shot in James Anderson face to give Dallas the lead with 12 seconds on the clock. He also converted on a nice drive, taking contact in the first for one of his field goals.Dominique Jones made a 10 minute cameo in the first half, only scoring the 1 point but dishing out 5 assists and pulling down 3 boards. Bernard James played a decent game for the Mavs with 9 points 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Cory Joseph was very impressive running the point for the Spurs, finishing with a line of 18 points 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He pushed the ball well and was a handful for the Mavs to handle in the open court. He protected the ball and was very effective penetrating and finding open team mates. At the end of the third, he pulled down a rebound and went coast to coast for a buzzer beating lay-up. Down 2 with 12 seconds left, Joseph found LD Williams on a nice cut who went to the line and tied the game. He did have trouble defending the bigger Crowder however he played tight on-ball defense on Dentmon.

Anderson has had better games than today. He didn’t shoot well and some of his decision making was questionable. He finished the game with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists on 3/11 shooting.

Left-handed Englishman Ryan Richards brought some good energy off the bench for 9 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes. Wilkerson was good in patches but made some silly errors, fouling on the perimeter & also had a lazy illegal defense called in the 3rd. Buycks also provided some good minutes off the bench for San Antonio, making a nice transition lay-up to tie the game in the last minute. He finished with 11 points 3 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals in 22 minutes.

The Spurs finish summer league with a 2-3 record while Dallas will leave Vegas 4-1.

Golden State Warriors (5-0) 80 New Orleans Hornets (1-4) 72
Boxscore

The Warriors closed out the Summer League with a perfect 5-0 record, the only team to do so.

Harrison Barnes had 13 points shooting 5/13 from the floor, knocking down some big shots in the final five minutes. Barnes finished Summer League averaging a solid though unspectacular 16.8 ppg on 40% shooting and 57% from 3.

Charles Jenkins led the Warriors with 15 pts on efficient shooting 5/9 fg. A solid SL showing for the player the Warriors cut Jeremy Lin in favor of.

Undrafted rookie Kent Bazemore continues to show that he has the athleticism and hustle to make a bid for an NBA roster spot. Bazemore had his best scoring output with 13 points on 5-10 shooting. He has the size and athleticism to play the SG position, he just needs to improve on his shooting and all around feel for the game

Xavier Henry led all scorers with 21 points. He has struggled to get on track in his NBA career after being a late lottery pick but had an excellent showing in this SL game.

Minnesota Timberwolves (3-1) 86 D-League Select (2-3) 78
Boxscore

The Minnesota Timberwolves ran down the D-League select team 86-78 in game 3 at COX pavilion. Wes Johnson had his best game of the summer, finishing with a game high 28 points.

Johnson drained 5 three’s for the game, going 9/14 from the floor. He also added 2 rebounds, 2 assists 2 blocks and a steal. His shot selection was excellent today, didn’t force shots and made all 5 of his free throws. Derrick Williams added 15 points 4 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals on 4/8fg, 6/10 from the line. Williams was involved all game, having a good battle with Leo Lyons. Williams showed his prowess in the open court and made some outside shots. He had a couple of lobs broken up much to the crowd’s disappointment.

The Timberwolves also received solid contributions from their bench. Kammron Taylor, put up 11 points in his 22 minutes of action. Luke Sikma, was active all game on both ends of the floor for 8 points and 5 rebounds. He sent down a nice dunk in the second half which excited his team mates.

Tony Easley didn’t do much damage on the box score but was vocal all game. He put up 2 points 3 boards and a block in just 6 minutes of play.

Mardy Collins led the D-Leaguers with 20 points on 7/10 shooting. He was perfect from long range and the free throw line (2/23FG 4/4FT). Former Oklahoma State forward Marcus Dove added 13 points 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. Kenny Hayes & Lyons both put up 11 points.

Despite Jet Chang’s fan club sitting in the front row, he has yet to play a minute in summer league. The D-League select team finish their schedule with a 2-3 record. The Timberwolves return tomorrow to face Josh Selby and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Chicago Bulls (1-3) 77 Los Angeles Clippers (1-3) 74
Boxscore

The Bulls edged the Clippers by 3 to get their first win of the summer league.

Chicago was paced by second year forwards Jimmy Butler with 23 and impressive undrafted forward Malcolm Thomas who had 21. Thomas activity has impressed and may be able to earn a spot on a roster next season.

Marquis Teague struggled once again from the floor (3/9) but was effective getting to the line (7/8) finishing with 13 pts, 5 ast, 4 to.

Adam Morrison paced the Clippers with 18 points knocking down 3-5 from outside. Taylor Battle and Marcus Hubbard each contributed 15 for the Clips.

Phoenix Suns (2-3) 96 Memphis Grizzlies (2-3) 87
Boxscore

The Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 96-87 in today’s final game in COX Pavilion. Kendall Marshall & Markieff Morris were too much for summer league MVP candidate Josh Selby & the Grizzlies, taking the Suns summer league record to 2-3.

Marshall’s shot was falling today, connecting on 6/10 shots for his 15 points. He adds another dimension to the Suns when he is making shots, going 3/4 from three. Whether or not his shot is going down, Marshall is always a treat to watch with the ball in his hands. There’s no doubt Phoenix drafted the best passer in the draft. He ended with 15 points 4 rebounds and 10 assists (3TO). Morris has been huge all week, pulling down another double-double tonight with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists. Morris has shown his range in his time in Vegas and hit a big three after Thunder Dan Majerle drew up a play out of a timeout to end the first half.

They were well supported by Marcus Landry and DeShawn Sims (13pts 5rebs). Landry went for 15 points, knocking down two from long range. Sims showed his versatility off the bench, hitting shots and running the floor. They provided reliable targets for Marshall all game.

PJ Tucker was also impressive for Phoenix, playing tough defense on Josh Selby and aggressively hitting the glass, pulling down 9 rebounds. Charles Garcia added 12 points and 2 rebounds for the Suns. Garcia was involved in a couple of interesting incidents during the game. Early in the third, Xavi Rey (3pts 6rebs) and Garcia hit the floor contesting a loose ball. A jump ball was called however Rey had hurt himself and went to the bench. As a result, the 5”10 Jerome Randle (4pts 2rebs 5assists) was selected to contest the jump ball against the 6”9 Garcia. Somehow Memphis gained possession. Later in the final minutes, Garcia made a strong move to the basket and had some words for Memphis defenders Mitchell Watt and Deon Thompson. Something about a b—-. He was called for technical on the spot.

Selby started hot and looked on track for another 30 plus point game, hitting 8 points in the first 5 minutes. He has been shooting an unbelievable 73% from downtown heading into tonight game and continued his form hitting 5/8 on the Suns. Selby played a great all round game, finding open team mates and hitting the boards. He didn’t do his summer league MVP chances any harm, finishing with 23 points (7/13FG) 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.

Tony Wroten had a solid game himself, collecting most of his buckets and strong left-handed drives to the hoop. He had 19 points on 8/18 shooting. North Carolina product Thompson again provided his reliable play and hustle, finishing with 14 points (5/6FG 4/4FT) 6 boards, 1 assist and 2 steals.

The Suns finish this year’s summer league with a 2-3 record. Memphis will look to finish with a winning record when they take on Minnesota tomorrow in the final game of this years event.

Milwaukee Bucks (3-1) 88 Boston Celtics (2-2) 87
Boxscore
 
Milwaukee first rounders Tobias Harris and John Henson played very well once again with 22 points a piece. Each did so on efficient shooting knocking down 9/17 and 9/18 shots respectively. Harris has really matured in his one season in the league and is showing star potential for the future. Henson’s length makes him a handful for players of Summer League caliber.

Bigman Larry Sanders had his best effort of the summer league going for 11 and 15. He’s likely never to be much of a scorer but his massive wingspan makes him an effective rebounder and rim defender.

Jared Sullinger struggled once again to get is shot off, hitting just 3/13 but found other ways to contribute getting to the line 12 times and hitting 10 and also netting 11 boards in 31 minutes of action.

Rookie Doron Lamb struggled hitting just 2-8 shots for 8 points. He and Dionte Christmas 17 pts (3/5 3p) got into a slight altercation at one point but no punches were thrown.

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