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The Samsung NBA Summer League held in Las Vegas rolled into its fourth day as the NBA players continued to show up in the arena to show support to their franchise’s team. Once again the matchboard for the day saw the participation of 16 teams.
Here is how the events of Day 4 turned out:
New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets (New York won 95-72)
The Knicks might have had a disastrous last season but their summer so far seems to be really encouraging. Firstly Phil Jackson made some smart moves during free agency to not only create some cap space and acquire draft picks for coming years but also keep seven-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony in the Big Apple. To top that, the new coaching staff under Head Coach Derek Fisher has so far led their Summer League team to a 3-0 start.
Although Jeremy Tyler’s valuable performance of 19 points and 8 points was the talking point of the game, Tim Hardaway Jr.’s all round performance of 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals was also a key ingredient to the Knicks remaining unbeaten in the competition so far. Meanwhile for the Hornets, it’s their third loss in three games in the tournament.
Sacramento Kings vs D-League Selects (Sacramento won 89-75)
With their win over the D-Leaguers, the Kings have now won two in a row after losing their first game. While the win is important the silver lining for many Indian fans is that New Mexico State player of Indian descent Sim Bhullar took the court for the second consecutive game. Altough his minutes on the court might have been limited, the encouraging sign is that the coach gave him a chance to play for the second straight game. In one and a half minutes of playing time Bhullar grabbed the lone rebound, and he would look to impress in the games to come if given the opportunity.
Dallas Mavericks vs Toronto Raptors (Dallas won 88-57)
It was an embarrasing loss for the Raptors who never found a flow to their game on either end of the floor, and the Mavericks took advantage of it. Both teams entered the game recording one win out of two games but when the game came to a close, the Mavericks were the team that went above .500 while the Raptors fell below .500. Ricky Ledo of the Mavericks led all scores with 18 points while Eric Griffin added 12 points off the bench to lead Dallas to the win.
San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans (San Antonio won 88-86)
Prior to the game the Pelicans were among the teams who were still unbeaten in the tournament. However, courtesy of a game-winning reverse layup by Jeff Ayres, the Spurs made sure the Pelicans would not stay unbeaten. With 6.3 seconds remaining Pelicans still had time to look for another good shot but the team failed to do so and slipped to their first loss in the tournament.
Darius Morris (19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists) and Austin Daye (18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists) led the Spurs to victory despite Pelicans point guard Russ Smith’s double-double effort of 14 points and 10 assists.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Philadelphia 76ers (Cleveland won 86-77)
It was a match-up between Andrew Wiggins, the number 1 overall pick of this year’s Draft, and Nerlens Noel, the rookie from last year’s Draft who led the Sixers to the title of the Orlando Summer League. However, Wiggins and Noel had little impact on the game, only scoring 10 and 12 points respectively; further, they also had a combined total of 13 personal fouls.
Jabari Parker has been producing better results than Wiggins so far, and this game does the latter no good. Despite the disappointing performance by Wiggins though, the Cavaliers won this game, defeating the Sixers on the back of Anthony Bennett’s 14 points and the double double effort by reserve Shane Edwards (14 points and 11 rebounds).
Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Clippers (Los Angeles won 91-85)
The Clippers beat the Heat on the back of huge games by Amath Mbaye (27 points), Lorenzo Brown (22 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists) and Delote West (12 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists). Miami supposedly saw Shabazz Napier as a capable fit at the point guard position for the team and traded for him on the Draft night, but Napier has not mpressed in the Summer League action so far.
Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles won 89-88)
Defending champions the Warriors (unbeaten going into the match) going up against the Lakers, who hadn’t won a single game leading to this game, should have been a wrap-up. But those expecting that result were in for a surprise. Not only did the game go into overtime, but the Lakers upset their opponents on the back of a game-winning buzzer beater tip in during the overtime period by Jordan Clarkson.
Clrakson finished the game with a team high 19 points and 7 rebounds and eventually led the Lakers to victory despite Justin Holiday shining for the second straight game with a 26 point effort.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Utah Jazz (Utah won 87-71)
Although Jabari Parker might have been gaining the upper hand against his rival Andrew Wiggins, his team has not enjoyed the same success. While Wiggins and the Cavaliers are unbeaten in the competition, the Bucks have failed to win even a single game from their three so far.
The Jazz have recorded 2 wins and 1 loss in their three games so far and can credit this win to Forward Rodney Hood’s game high 29 points and 5 assists performance.
Top 10 Plays from Day 4 in Las Vegas:
