Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) 98 New York Knicks (0-5) 64
Boxscore
Without Dion Waiters, the Cleveland Cavaliers opened day 8 with a big 98-64 win over the New York, leaving the Knicks winless in this year’s event.
Tristan Thompson had an aggressive start, hitting two quick baskets to start the game finishing with the left and right hand. Thompson showed good energy running the floor, finishing the break. He took a shot to the face from Ahmad Nivins (2 reb 1 asssit 9 PF) at the beginning of the second quarter and left the court. He didn’t return but did put up13 points and 2 boards in just 12 minutes of play. He spent the rest of the game on the bench icing his right eye.
Tyler Zeller had his moments during the game for 12 points and 5 rebounds. Zeller showed his touch from the top of the key & ran the floor for a dunk. He also made an impressive drive, selling a good head fake and getting to the line.
Justin Holiday impressed for Cleveland for his 12 bench points. Holiday is rail-thin but clearly has talent. If he can manage to fill out some, he’ll have a shot of making an NBA roster. He had a big third quarter, showing his touch on a nice pull up. Holiday has decent vision as well, picking up 2 assists but making other impressive passes that weren’t finished off by team mates. His best play was when he showed great awareness and launched a 15 foot shot on the break to beat the buzzer to end the third. He also collected 4 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals in 16 minutes.
The new look Samardo Samuels was strong off the bench today for his 9 points and 13 boards. He finished one break with a nice reverse dunk and backed up not long after for a 3pt play off a drive.
Former Notre Dame star, Luke Harangody was productive in his 18 minutes of action. He’s not often shy taking shots and put up some today, scoring 12 points on 5/7 shooting. He also grabbed 5 boards.
Mustapha Farrakhan was the Knicks best today going for 13 points. Farrakhan made some outside shots and was aggressive taking the ball to the hoop. Jerome Jordan started today matching up on Zeller. He got off to a strong start, pulling down an offensive rebound over Zeller for his first two points.
Chris Copeland didn’t start but made an immediate impact when he checked into the game, making his first three baskets in the second quarter. His outside shot has looked better the more he plays and finished with 12 points, going 5/9 from the field in his final summer league game.
Cleveland finishes the 2012 summer league with a 3-2 record.
Portland Trailblazers (3-1) 95 Denver Nuggets (1-4) 82
Boxscore
The Portland Trailblazers beat the Denver Nuggets 95-82 today in game 2 at Cox Pavilion. Damian Lillard again led the blazers finishing with a game high 23 points.
Lillard struggled a little with his outside shots, going 6/16 from the field and 3/8 from deep. His made some nice plays throughout the game, showing off his passing ability for 7 assists. Lillard also impressed off the ball, making good cuts to get himself open, Luke Babbitt found him a nice backdoor play in the first quarter.
Will Barton was great for the blazers, heavily involved on both ends of the court, picking up 21 points and 9 rebounds. His athleticism was on display throughout the game, finishing two breaks with impressive dunks. He also made a couple of nice assists in 30 minutes of play. Barton shot 8/11 and made all 5 of his free throws.
Babbitt was again very solid and more often than not makes the right decision. He posted 11 points, 8 rebounds 6 assists. The Blazers got a nice contribution from Dee Bost who, before today, hadn’t scored a single point in 30 minutes of play. He complimented Lillard nicely, draining 3/5 from long range for 15 points on 5/9 shooting.
Myers Leonard was a little underwhelming today picking up 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. At the moment, most of his basket come from put backs and finishing under the basket from his team mates creating. Although he stepped out to make a 15 footer, he could be more assertive in the post & will need to develop more of a post game. He is young with the tools and capacity to do so.
Although Jordan Hamilton top scored for the Nuggets, he didn’t look as good offensively today as we have seen all week. He was short of several shots, putting up a couple of air balls from close range. Hamilton did show off his vision and unselfishness, dishing out some nice passes for 8 assists. His best came from a behind the back pass to Chukwudiebere Madaubum (5pts 2rebs 2blks). Hamilton has been averaging 51% from the floor leading into this game and that will take a hit after today’s 6/17 effort. It’s tough to fault his effort and production this summer though.
Evan Fournier hit 17 points but surprisingly didn’t register a single rebound or assist. He got called for a technical for complaining about a no-call and was sent to the bench to cool off. His nice stroke was on display, sinking three from long range. Demonte Harper (17pts 6/10fg) was very good today for Denver, connecting on 4/6 three’s. He also added 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Before the game, the COX Pavilion crowd observed a minute silence for the overnight shooting in Colorado& the Denver squad all wore black headbands.
Memphis Grizzlies (2-1) 97 Charlotte Bobcats (4-1) 79
Boxscore
The Bobcats fell short of their bid for an undefeated Summer League, losing by 18 to Memphis.
The Grizzlies were led by second year guard Josh Selby who has been one of the top performers in Vegas. Selby had 29 going into the fourth quarter, but wasn;t able to break his own 2012 Summer League record of 35 points, finishing with 32. Selby hit 7-11 from deep and 9-14 overall. Selby received his second Player of the Day award, putting some heat on Damian Lillard for our MVP honors at the end of the event.
Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 16 points but shoot poorly at 6-17 from the field. He amazingly had no assists or turnovers, showing that any time he touched the ball he was shooting it. Bismack Biyombo had 10 and 4 with 3 blocks in 22 minutes of action. More importantly Biyombo avoided what looked at first like a serious knee injury. Credit Biyombo’s athleticism and relative youth for avoiding a play that many NBA center would probably have been injured on with an opponent diving into his knee.
Tony Wroten had 8 assists but struggled shooting the ball hitting just 3/6 for 6 points. Former Tar Heel Deon Thompson also contributed 15 pts 6/10 and 8 rebs off the bench for Memphis.
Miami Heat (3-1) 83 San Antonio Spurs (2-2) 78
Boxscore
The Heat extended their record to 3-1 with a 5 point win over the Spurs.
Miami Heat guard Terrell Harris has been a pleasant surprise and had a breakout game scoring 25 to lead Miami to the 5 point win over the Spurs.
Rookie second rounder Justin Hamilton of LSU went for 15 and 8 in his best performance of the SL.
Second year PG Cory Joseph has been good for the Spurs but struggled with 10 turnovers and shot just 4/11 for 9 pts, 6 ast. The Spurs had a balanced attack with no player scoring over 12 points.
Golden State Warriors (4-0) 66 Chicago Bulls (0-3) 57
Boxscore
Harrison Barnes got back on track after disappointing games (5/17) shooting in each of his previous two games. Banes led all scorers with 20 pts utilizing his polished Paul Pierce like one dribble pull up jumper. He also pitched in 9 boards.
Kent Bazemore has made a positive impression on scouts and although he may not be able to make the Warriors roster, he;s made a solid bid to join an NBA roster with his athleticism and hustle. Bazemore filled the stat sheet with 11 pts, 8 rebs, 7 blk, 2 stl and 2 ast.
The Bulls have two more games, but appear ready to get out of Vegas right now.
The Warriors on the other hand will look to be the one team to make it through the Summer League undefeated.
D-League Select (2-2) 89 Phoenix Suns (1-3) 75
Boxscore
Center Chris Daniels and SG Andre Emmitt went for 20 and 18 and 10 boards respectively helping the D-Leaguers notch their second win of the SL.
Mardy Collins was another bright spot for D-League Select with 13 pts and 9 rebs.
Markieff Morris paced the Suns with 16 points but was ineffective hitting just 6/15 shots.
Rookie Kendall Marshall went for 10 and 6 assists with 3 to but struggled shooting the ball 4/14.
Dallas Mavericks (3-1) 78 New Orleans Hornets (1-3) 65
Boxscore
The one-two punch of Dominique Jones (16 pts) and rookie Jae Crowder (18 pts) was too much for a Hornets team missing both of their lottery picks.
Undrafted free agent [Drew Gordon] got on the board early converting an ally oop from Jones. He finished with a double double registering 10 and 11.
The Hornets were led by Xavier Henry who had 12 points on 5-8 shooting.
