Samsung NBA Summer League: Day 5 recap and preview of the knockout stage

Day 5 action of the Samsung NBA Summer League consisted of the final 12 teams who were yet to complete three matches in the tournament. These six games were the final round-robin matches with the knockout stage of the competition kicking off on the 16th of July.

This is how the final day of group action turned out for the 12 teams on Day 5:

Portland Trail Blazers vs Atlanta Hawks (Portland won 91-76)?

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C.J. McCollum, the third point guard on the Trail Blazers’ pro team, was out to prove that he could be given more minutes during the NBA’s regular season and he certainly put the Portland coaching staff on notice with his incredible game-changing 28 point performance which carried the Blazers to their second victory out of three games. Forward Will Barton played a solid role of No. 2 player on the team with his 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists display. If it wasn’t for the six turnovers, Barton would have been the game’s MVP and not McCollum.

Although it was a more balanced performance from the Hawks, it was just not enough as the team heads into the knockout stage of the competition with no wins as 22nd seed while the Trail Blazers finished as 6th seed with their 2-1 record.

Chicago Bulls vs Minnesota Timberwolves (Chicago won 107-73)

At halftime the Bulls led by six points which can be considered a close game given how the match was going back and forth for the first 20 minutes. However, in the final two quarters the game turned on its head. Timberwolves let a six point lead escalate to a 34 points win margin in the matter of the final two quarters. The most notable contributors were Doug McDermott (20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) for the Bulls and Kyrylo Fresenko (13 points and 7 rebounds) for the Timberwolves.

Bulls finish their 3 games unbeaten and rack the top seed for the knockout stage; meanwhile, the Timberwolves failed to win even a single game and are seeded last out of the 24 teams.

Los Angeles Clippers vs Houston Rockets (Houston won 83-60)

The Rockets notched this win comfortably by beating a Clippers team that was struggling to score. Only one player on their roster Shawn Jones scored in double figures with 10 points. The Clippers struggled to knock down shots from long range and from the free throw line which ultimately caused the disparity in points. The leading scorer for the Rockets was center Donatas Motiejunas with his 15 points and 5 rebounds.

Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards (Washington won 85-83)

Glen Rice Jr. with his 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists led the Wizards past the Heat in a crucial and close game. The Wizards jumped to a huge 18 point lead after the first quarter but the Heat kep chipping away at the lead, only to lose the game by just 2 points.

The Wizards with this win join the group of elite teams who finish the group round unbeaten. Meanwhile, the Heat are struggling after losing their second game in a row and find themselves among the low seeded teams.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Phoenix Suns (Phoenix won 97-88)

Phoenix beat the Orlando Summer League Champions the Sixers on the back of T.J. Warren’s double double effort of 28 points and 11 rebounds. The star of the Sixers team Nerlens Noel did not play on Tuesday evening, which could have been one of the reasons for the loss.

The Suns with a 2-1 record finished 9th and just missed out on being among the top 8 teams in the competition who get a bye for the first elimination round. On the other hand, the Sixers qualify as the 16th seed.

Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets (Utah won 87-69)

The Jazz front court had outstanding contributions by Malcolm Thomas (14 points and 10 rebounds) and Erik Murphy (17 points and 9 rebounds). However, it was the Nuggets’ dismal second quarter that was the primary reason they lost the game. Denver struggled in the second quarter scoring only 7 points while conceeding 17.

While Utah qualify as the fifth seed the Nuggets make it to the knockout stage as the 18th seed.

Top 10 plays from Day 5 actions of the Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas:

Schedule for the knockout stage of the competition in Las Vegas:

Wednesday July 16th

Cox Pavilion

1 PM -- # 9 Phoenix vs. #24 Minnesota (Game 37) 3 PM -- #11 Golden State vs. #22 Atlanta (Game 39) 5 PM -- #13 Miami vs. #20 L.A. Clippers (Game 41) 7 PM -- #15 NBA D-League vs. #18 Denver (Game 43)

Thomas & Mack Arena

1:30 PM -- #10 Dallas vs. #23 Charlotte (Game 38) 3:30 PM -- #12 San Antonio vs. #21 Milwaukee (Game 40) 5:30 PM -- #14 Houston vs. #19 Toronto (Game 42) 7:30 PM -- #16 Philadelphia vs. #17 L.A. Lakers (Game 44)

Thursday July 17

COX Pavilion

1 PM -- #8 Sacramento vs. Winner of Game 37 (Game 45) 3 PM -- #6 Portland vs. Winner of Game 39 (Game 47) 5 PM -- #4 Washington vs. Winner of Game 41 (Game 49) 7 PM -- #2 New York vs. Winner of Game 43 (Game 51)

Thomas & Mack

1:30 PM -- #7 New Orleans vs. Winner of Game 38(Game 46) 3:30 PM -- #5 Utah vs. Winner of Game 40 (Game 48) 5:30 PM -- #3 Cleveland vs. Winner of Game 42 (Game 50) 7:30 PM -- #1 Chicago vs. Winner of Game 44 (Game 52)

Friday July 18

COX Pavilion

1 PM -- Game 37 Loser vs. Game 38 Loser (Game 53) 3 PM -- Game 41 Loser vs. Game 42 Loser (Game 55) 5 PM -- Game 45 Loser vs. Game 46 Loser (Game 57) 7 PM -- Game 49 Loser vs. Game 50 Loser (Game 59)

Thomas & Mack

1:30 PM -- Game 39 Loser vs. Game 40 Loser (Game 54) 3:30 PM -- Game 43 Loser vs. Game 44 Loser (Game 56) 5:30 PM -- Game 47 Loser vs. Game 48 Loser (Game 58) 7:30 PM -- Game 51 Loser vs. Game 52 Loser (Game 60)

Saturday July 19

Thomas & Mack

1 PM -- Game 46 Winner vs. Game 51 Winner (Game 61) 3 PM -- Game 47 Winner vs. Game 50 Winner (Game 62) 5 PM -- Game 45 Winner vs. Game 52 Winner (Game 63) 7 PM -- Game 48 Winner vs. Game 49 Winner (Game 64)

Sunday July 20

Thomas & Mack

3 PM -- Game 61 Winner vs. Game 62 Winner (Game 65) 5 PM -- Game 63 Winner vs. Game 64 Winner(Game 66)

Monday July 21

Thomas & Mack

6 PM -- Game 65 Winner vs. Game 66 Winner (Game 67)