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Orlando Summer League: Day 1
Orlando Summer League: Day 2
Orlando Summer League: Day 3

Game 1 Orlando Magic 78 vs Oklahoma City Thunder 80
Box Score

Oklahoma City sat a good chunk of their best players today in able to give some run to other players.  James Harden, Eric Maynor, Serge Ibaka and DJ White all watched from the bench as their teammates went out and controlled the majority of this game.  It wasn’t until a late 4th quarter comeback by the Magic made a game of this. The Magic’s comeback was based on some strong defense, a newfound offense and some silly mistakes by the Thunder, but ultimately came up short.

Leading the comeback for the Magic once again was Joe Crawford who backed up yesterday’s great game in a heartbreaking loss with today’s great game in a heartbreaking loss.  Joe put in 17 points on 6-11 shooting.  Also putting in a solid day was Donell Taylor who poured in 18 points on a steady diet of long range jumpshots.  He didn’t just hang on the perimeter either as he crashed the boards tallying a team-high 7 rebounds.
 
The Magic once again got nothing out of first round draft pick Daniel Orton who contributed 4 points and 4 rebounds.  Patrick Ewing Jr also struggled to get anything going today by missing the only 3 shots he attempted, finishing with 2 points and 3 rebounds.  Ewings shots seemed to be particularly flat with no arc.

Paul Davis had his typical game.  He struggled to finish at the basket, but continually earned trips to the line keeping the Magic in this game.  Paul finished with 15 and 5.

The victorious, short-handed Thunder team survived a scare by getting big games out of Kyle Weaver and Mustafa Shakur.  Shakur shot 60% from the field en route to 21 points, none bigger than the 3 he iced with :10 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up 3.  Weaver had a solid all-around game by notching 21 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds.  Byron Mullens continues to contribute with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
 
Game 2 Boston Celtics 85 vs Indiana Pacers 86
Box Score

This game was a Battle of Boston Legends with Larry Bird’s Pacers squaring off against Danny Ainge’s Celtics.  Boston opens up this game playing team basketball and firing on all cylinders.  Indiana meanwhile starts out struggling on their way to a 27 point deficit at the half.

Boston’s hot start was led once again by standout Luke Harangody from Notre Dame.  Luke was an assassin from deep, hitting big shot after big shot with his smooth release.  He also was a force inside with tenacious defense and aggressive action on the boards.  On one play he fought for a rebound, tipping it 3 or 4 times before wresting it away from a taller player.  He then sprints the floor to receive the ball back and finish on a difficult layup.  Harangody is really standing out as one of the top players in Orlando this week.

Also playing well for Boston was Jaycee Carroll who seems to be getting more comfortable as the days progress.  Carroll shot well from the field but also was extremely effective at getting to the line and finishing.  Jaycee finished with 19 points.

In the midst of the rout, Indiana forgot to give up.  In fact they turned up their intensity, and turned this thing around in the 3rd quarter with some stifling defense, holding the Celtics to 11 points in the quarter.  A full court press in the 4th quarter completely flustered the Boston backcourt, leading to plenty of steals and broken plays that catapulted their offense to outscore the Pacers by 20 in the 4th.

Taking advantage of this was Magnum Rolle and Paul George who fought hard until the end after losing Lance Stephenson to a thigh bruise.  Rolle particularly impressed with his rampant athleticism that propelled him to 19 points and 11 rebounds.  Rolle continually worked in the paint to get rebounds and putbacks.  He also showed a nice jumpshot today on 8-13 shooting.

Also contributing to the exciting comeback was Bryce Taylor who contributed 10 and 5, whose night was capped by a strong reverse dunk off of a steal in the backcourt.

Paul George didn’t shoot very well (4-16) but had some key plays down the stretch including the last two baskets for Indiana.  His last was a driving hoop plus the foul to tie the game with 4.7 seconds remaining.  George then hit the clutch free throw, making Indiana’s first lead of the day, the game winner.

Game 3 Utah Jazz 91 vs New Jersey Nets 74
Box Score

Utah cruised to victory behind a balanced effort. 3rd year center Kosta Koufas paced the Jazz with 14 points on 5-8 shooting. He shows a nice face up game and has gained the strength to battle inside for rebounds (4).

Gordon Hayward shot a perfect 4-4 from the floor for 11 points with 2 ast and  0 turnovers.

"Too Much" Rod Benson led the team with 6 boards to go with his 12 points off the bench.

For the Nets, Terrence Williams is making a strong bid for Orlando Summer League player of the week. He led all scorers with 23 points (10-20 fg) and 5 assists. He did have 6 turnovers however and will need to play more under control.

Rookie Derrick Favors struggled with 7 turnovers, shooting just 2-7 from the floor finishing with 6 points and 6 boards. His lack of offensive polish and overall level of comfort on the floor is apparent.

Game 4 Charlotte Bobcats 77 vs Philadelphia 76ers 76
Box Score

Jrue Holiday sat this one out giving Evan Turner a chance to run the show from the lead guard position. He was visably frustrated as he just couldn’t get anything going with numerous mental errors and turnovers. He shot just 1-6 from the floor with 5 points, 1 assist and 3 to.

On the positive side, Holiday looked just as flustered last year in the same event. The concern however is that Turner has 3 years of college under his belt and was expected to come into this summer league and dominate. He has struggled, but play in SL both good and bad has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Despite a disappointing shooting effort (4-14) Gerald Henderson hit the game winner with 0.1 on the clock to defeat Philadelphia. His game winner was a put back as he found himself under the basket just before time expired and was able to lay the ball in.

Second year forward Derrick Brown paced the victors with 16 pts, (6-9 fg) 8 reb used his length and energy to clean the boards. His rebound and ferocious left handed put back dunk woke the gym up early in the first quarter, and was one of the most exciting plays on the day.

Undrafted rookie Sherron Collins appears to be eating his way out of the NBA before he ever got there. He put on 25 lbs between the end of the season and the draft and still appears to be 15-20 lbs overweight. He just doesn’t seem to have the work ethic necessary to cut it at the NBA level.

Jodie Meeks led all scorers with 17 pts for Philly. He was active and aggressive attacking the basket converting on one nice up and under.

Former first rounder Ndudi Ebi had a solid effort posting 14 pts.
 

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