Thursday’s results
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A Quinn Cook turnover in the last four seconds cost the Pelicans a chance at overtime as San Antonio beat New Orleans to advance in the Summer League tournament. The Spurs’ Bryn Forbes scored 29 points to lead all scorers. Cook scored 19, his lowest total in during his play in Las Vegas.
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Isaiah Whitehead led four players in double figures with 14 points as the Nets never trailed. They led by as many as 20 points at one point en route to make Saturday’s quarterfinals. Malik Beasley led the Nuggets with 20 points.
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Even without No. 3 overall pick Jayson Tatum (right knee tendinitis), the Celtics rolled into the quarters. Rosco Allen led the Celtics with 18 points, and Jabari Bird scored
17. Ante Zizic finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. EX-UNLV player Patrick Mccaw led the Warriors with 20 points. ■
Three Heat players scored at least 20 points, with Okaro White topping them with 23. Justin Robinson added 22 points and Gian Clavell had 20. Brice Johnson led the Clippers with 13 points.
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Wayne Selden scored 33 points to lead the Grizzlies. Wade Baldwin IV added 21 points and
Deyonta Davis had 16. For the Suns,
Mike James scored 32 points, Dragan Bender 20 and Shaquille Harrison 16.
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No. 9 overall draft pick Dennis Smith Jr. scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Dallas’ victory. Justin Jackson, the No. 15 overall selection, topped all Kings scorers with 25 points.
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Nick Johnson made 6 of 9 shots, including all three 3-point attempts, to score 17 points and lead five Blazers players into double figures. Teammate Caleb Swanigan, the No. 26 overall draft selection, put together a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Fred Vanvleet scored 31 points for the Raptors.
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No. 2 overall draft selection Lonzo Ball, wearing Adidas shoes, recorded his second triple-double of the summer league with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, to go along with five steals, for the Lakers. Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers with 20 points and Vander Blue scored 18. Kay Felder led the Cavaliers with 25 points. That story doesn’t change, and it’s never going to change, so I’m going to keep continuing doing what I’m good at, and that’s play basketball.”
Robinson is at the NBA Summer League playing for the Miami Heat, and he’s making a strong argument.
He scored 22 points in the Heat’s 91-84 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
That came a day after he scored 19 points and made the game-winning shot against the Washington Wizards.
“Any time you have games like these, it opens up people’s eyes for us and anyone watching,” Heat summer league coach Chris Quinn said. “He’s obviously not the tallest guy, but he plays with a huge heart. You can see he loves playing the game, and he’s been huge for us, especially these last few games.”
Robinson played the past four seasons at Monmouth, averaging 15.3 points, 3.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds. He was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year the past two seasons.
He also received the Lou Henson Mid-major Player of the Year award last season.
“I’ve always believed in myself,” Robinson said. “Now I just have to go out and prove it to everybody.
It’s not easy. There are all these top-notch guards out here. You’re playing against the best of the best. They’re in the same position as me trying to make it, and then you’ve got the lottery picks that they’re trying to solidify themselves. To come out here and have this good experience, it’s a blessing.”
Only one left
The Nets have gone through so many changes that third-year pro Rondae Hollis-jefferson is the only remaining player since Sean Marks became general manager in February 2016.
Hollis-jefferson, a 6-foot 7-inch forward, has started 67 career games and played in 107, averaging 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds. Last season, he averaged 8.7 and 5.8.
Now the Nets are looking to Hollis-jefferson to be a stabilizing force among the sea of change.
“I’m trying to show the guys this is what they want and this is how they want it done,” Hollis-jefferson said.
The changes haven’t been easy. Watching teammate and good friend Brook Lopez get dealt last month to the Lakers was especially difficult.
“The sooner that you understand this is part of a business, the better off you are,” Hollis-jefferson said. “Things happen. Before they traded Brook, Brook was that way. I have
‘X’ amount of teammates. It’s a part of basketball. So understanding that and working through it and (he’s) making sure the pieces that they put in are great pieces, great guys, and it’s fun to be around those guys.”
Celtics’ Tatum sits
The Boston Celtics had no trouble advancing to the quarterfinals despite not playing Jayson Tatum during their 93-69 victory over the Golden State Warriors at Cox Pavilion.
Tatum was on the injury list with right patella tendinitis, but the No. 3 overall pick said it was more about having a rest day, and he hopes to return for Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
‘The Spurs way’
Bryn Forbes scored 29 points to keep the San Antonio Spurs alive and advance into the quarterfinals. He also dished out five assists and collected three rebounds while shooting 8 of 22.
The former Michigan State player said he was working on all facets of his game but also was focused on becoming a better leader.
“Play the Spurs way,” Forbes said. “I put a lot of work in this summer trying to master the Spurs way.”
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter. Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Gmanzano24 on Twitter. Contact Jonathan Saxon at jsaxon@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @J_ Saxon91 on Twitter.