"Down goes Orlando Blue! Down goes Gordon, Payton, and Hezonja!" Yesterday, the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by second year players Mitch McGary and Semaj Christon, "upset" the home team that contained three top ten draft picks. Will they be able to keep pace with the Miami Heat, who are currently in the drivers seat to play in this Friday's Orlando Summer League championship, by defeating a winless Clippers group?
Today's Results
Game 1
1-1 (7.5 pts) Orlando Blue 71
2-0 (12.5 pts) Memphis 73
Final in Double Overtime
Notables
ORB-Aaron Gordon
22 points (8-19), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, & 1 steal.
MEM-Russ Smith
20 points (9-12), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, & 2 steals.
***Orlando Summer League Star of the Day
On day one the Orlando Blue squandered a sixteen point lead with Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja in uniform and today they allowed a 17 point lead to slip away with neither on the court! Would they come out victorious? Today's opponent of Orlando Blue was Jordan Adams, Orlando Summer League's second highest scorer at twenty points per game, and his tough Memphis Grizzlies squad that were looking to keep their championship hopes alive. From the get-go both team's stars, Orlando's Aaron Gordon and Jordan Adams, lived up to their reputations by the previous scoring Blue's first seven points and the latter netting the Grizzlies' first five. But after early success, both players cooled off and failed to score the rest of the quarter.
With Gordon and Adams in shooting lulls, Orlando point guard Peyton Siva quarterbacked his team with a four point, five assists quarter that put Blue ahead 27-16 heading into the second quarter. The next few minutes brought more of the same as the Blue went on a 10-0 run that increased their lead to seventeen! Nevertheless, like the Clippers on the Fourth of July, Memphis made a comeback with a 27-9 spurt that transpired in the late stages of the second quarter in addition to most of the third. In fact, with the 27-9 run, the Grizzlies took a 47-46 lead that started a back and forth contest for the remainder of the game.
Despite the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft Aaron Gordon scoring two points total in the second and third quarters, the former Arizona Wildcat rediscovered his touch with thirteen fourth quarter points, putting Blue up 67-61 with just over two minutes and thirty seconds remaining in regulation. Orlando's Drew Crawford added to the lead with two made free throws, which looked in the moment to have put the final bullet in the Grizzlies. Jordan Adams, Russ Smith, and Jarnell Stokes had other ideas though as they continued to fight back and scored eight straight points, including a game tying trey from Russdiculous, to send the game into overtime.
In the extra two minute period, the action was at a bare minimum since Orlando's Devyn Marble and Memphis' Okaro White made the only shots of the segment, both of equal value, resulting in sudden death overtime.
The jump ball of the second overtime was between the Grizzlies' six foot, eleven inch Michael Holyfield and Blue's six foot, nine inch high-riser Aaron Gordon. Height prevailed as Memphis controlled the tip giving them the first opportunity to win the contest. After the Grizzlies won another jump ball caused by Orlando's Peyton Siva tying up Russ Smith, Tony Crocker was able to get an open look from beyond the arc. SWAT! Orlando's Aaron Gordon came out of no where to send the shot out of bounds with 2.8 seconds left on the shot clock.
The Grizz needed to get a quick attempt up and because of that need, the inbounds pass went to none other than Jordan Adams, who fired a three pointer immediately. Clank! Fortunately for Memphis, Jarnell Stokes corralled the rebound and found a wide open Russ Smith in the middle of the paint. Smith caught the pass and flicked a floater high into the air. Nothing but net. Smith's game winner capped off a twenty point (summer league best), three assist, three rebound performance for the former Louisville Cardinal. As for Aaron Gordon and Jordan Adams, Gordon finished with another twenty plus point game (twenty-two points) while Adams was able to muster fifteen in the victory.
Game 2
0-2 (4 pts) Brooklyn 55
0-2 (3 pts) Charlotte 64
Notables
BKN-Markel Brown
12 points (3-10), 5 rebounds, & 1 assist.
CHA-Troy Daniels
16 points (5-11), 14 rebounds, & 2 assists.
On Sunday, Charlotte guard Troy Daniels drilled six threes in a twenty-one point performance and today he started right where he left off as he nailed four three-pointers in addition to two free throws and a jumper to give the Hornets a 41-34 halftime advantage.
Coming out of the break, points were very hard to come by for both teams proven by the Nets shooting three for fourteen and the Hornets making only four of their seventeen attempts in the third quarter. Nonetheless, the media and scouts had themselves a one-point ball game in the fourth quarter with a made jumper from Brooklyn's first round pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Quickly, Charlotte swarmed to recover though and was able to extend their lead to eight with five consecutive points from undrafted free agent Aaron Harrison. Despite Nets' guard Markel Brown, who netted a team high twelve points in only fifteen minutes played, doing all he could in the final minutes to keep his team from becoming 0-3, the Hornets' Kevin Murphy put the final nail in the coffin by sinking two free throws with only thirty-three seconds remaining.
All Charlotte starters besides 2014 first round draft pick P.J. Hairston finished in double figures this afternoon including Aaron Harrison and Frank Kaminsky, who both scored eleven. While the Hornets' 2015 first round pick (Kaminsky) had a quality game, Brooklyn's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson struggled mightily and finished the day with a measly two points.
Game 3
2-0 (13 pts) Oklahoma City 64
0-2 (3 pts) Los Angeles Clippers 80
Notables
OKC-Frank Gaines
12 points (4-9), 1 rebound, & 1 steal.
LAC-C.J. Wilcox
22 points (7-17), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, & 1 block.
Time to get the brooms out because the Clippers just swept the Oklahoma City Thunder in the upset of Day 4! Instantly, everyone watching could tell that Los Angeles was playing with a newfound energy supplied by Michigan State product Branden Dawson, who was starting his first NBA contest, and it paid huge dividends for the scuffling squad. Even the bench was engaged from the start! And with those two changes, the Clippers excelled as Nate Wolters scored ten points, C.J. Wilcox netted seven, and Branden Dawson did work on both ends of the floor with a four point, five rebound first quarter that gave their team a nine point lead heading into the second. In the next quarter, LA initiated more of the same while gaining another point by winning the period to extend the margin to ten.
Although OKC was finally able to produce some offensive fire power to start the second half (twenty points, ten from Frank Gaines, in the third quarter), the Thunder defense played very poor in comparison to yesterday and could not get the necessary stops to close the gap. In fact, today's game can be summed up by the fact that Oklahoma City was unable to get the Clippers' lead under ten in the second half! In the 80-64 defeat, the Thunder's three headed scoring monster of Semaj Christon, Mitch McGary, and Frank Gaines was very short of their combined scoring average (37.5) as they only combined for twenty-nine points on the night. For the Clippers, C.J. Wilcox finally broke out with a twenty-two point outburst (one point less than his combined total from first two performances) and Branden Dawson tied his professional high of fourteen points.
2014 First Round Picks In Action
-Aaron Gordon ORB (#4 Pick)
---22 points (8-19), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, & 1 steal.
-Elfrid Payton ORB (#10 Pick)
---Did not play.
-Mitch McGary OKC (#21 Pick)
---7 points (3-7), 5 rebounds, 1 steal, & 2 blocks.
-Jordan Adams MEM (#22 Pick)
---15 points (5-17), 5 assists, 2 assists, 1 block, & 4 steals.
-P.J. Hairston CHA (#26 Pick)
---8 points (3-9), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 steal.
-C.J. Wilcox LAC (#28 Pick)
---22 points (7-17), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, & 1 block.
2015 First Round Picks In Action
-Mario Hezonja ORB (#5 Pick)
---Did not play.
-Frank Kaminsky CHA (#9 Pick)
---11 points (4-11), 6 rebounds, & 1 block.
-Cameron Payne OKC (#14 Pick)
---Will not participate in summer league due to fractured finger.
-Rondae Hollis-Jefferson BKN (#23 Pick)
---2 points (1-6), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, & 3 steals.
-Jarell Martin MEM (#25 Pick)
---Will not participate in summer league due to foot injury.
-Chris McCullough BKN (#29 Pick)
---Will not participate in summer league due to ongoing recovery from a torn ACL.
Standings
1. Miami 3-0 19 pts
2. Memphis 3-0 19 pts
3. Orlando White 2-0 13 pts
4. Oklahoma City 2-1 13 pts
5. Los Angeles C 1-2 11 pts
6. Detroit 1-2 9 pts
7. Orlando Blue 1-2 9 pts
8. Charlotte 1-2 9 pts
9. Brooklyn 0-3 6 pts
10. Indiana 0-2 4 pts
Tomorrow's Slate
1:00 PM
Orlando White - Charlotte
3:00 PM
Indiana - Detroit
5:00 PM
Los Angeles Clippers - Miami
Tomorrow's Game of the Day
5:00 PM
Los Angeles Clippers - Miami
Spoil Oklahoma City's summer league championship asperations, CHECK! Spoil Miami's summer league championship hopes, find out tomorrow! Although the Los Angeles Clippers do not have the most exciting or well known names in Orlando this year, they still have a chance to salvage a .500 record heading into Friday's playoff game with a win tomorrow. The Clippers, who are carried by a pair of players with NBA experience (C.J. Wilcox and Nate Wolters) in addition to 2015 second round pick Branden Dawson, are the only team to sweep an opponent (win all four quarters) and receive eight points in one matchup. Tomorrow, the Miami Heat will not only try to avoid being swept by LA but attempt to clinch a spot in the Orlando Summer League Championship. Yesterday, Miami was very impressive as the Heat received huge lifts from Tyler Kalinoski, Joshua Smith, and Seth Tuttle to make up for the absences of Zoran Dragic, Tyler Ennis, and Tyler Johnson (day-off). Also, 2015 first round pick (tenth overall) Justise Winslow has sustained good play every game in City Beautiful and will enter tomorrow's showdown averaging 15.3 points per game (best on team).