NBA Summer League Day 9 Blog: Blue lifts Lakers into semifinals
8:50 p.m.: Lakers move on to the semifinals
Kyle Kuzma and Vander Blue lifted a sluggish Lonzo Ball as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 115-106 Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The most popular team in Las Vegas will get to play another day. The Lakers will face the Dallas Mavericks during the semifinals on Sunday.
Blue, the reigning MVP for the D League, led all scores with 27 points. Kuzma chipped in 26 points, and Ball contributed 14 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
Ball, who was sporting Steph Curry’s Under Armour shoes, also added nine points and seven assists.
— Gilbert Manzano
7:19 p.m.: Mavericks wing Yanyuhang brings down the house at Thomas & Mack
He wasn’t a lottery pick. He wasn’t even a draft pick. He didn’t have a triple-double, and he didn’t score 30.
But the Thomas & Mack Center crowd roared and applauded for Dallas Mavericks wing Ding Yanyuhang like he was LeBron James or Steph Curry.
And he loved every second of it.
Yanyuhang drew MVP chants during the third quarter of the Mavericks’ 91-74 win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
“I’m touched … I noticed a lot of it was coming from the Chinese fans, but a good amount of it was coming from the American fans,” Yanyuhang said through a translator. “Through the competition. I’ve slowly been sort of trying to find my own pace … I still feel like there’s a lot of myself that I can improve on.”
Yanyuhang finished with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting, and by the end of the third quarter, fans erupted every time he touched the ball.
When he was on the bench, they booed. When another player had the ball, they booed.
When Yanyuhang as much as dribbled, an electric, if not euphoric, energy circulated the entire arena.
“This is a new experience,” Yanyuhang said through his translator. “This is (my) first time playing in North America. (I) love the confirmation and the support I’m getting.”
— Sam Gordon
5:15 p.m.: Grizzlies remain unbeaten
Wayne Selden led four double-figure scorers with 24 points on Saturday to help the Memphis Grizzlies stay unbeaten in the NBA Summer League with a 98-95 win over the Miami Heat in double overtime.
Selden added five rebounds and four assists for Memphis, which outscored Miami 6-3 in the second overtime to move to 5-0.
Dillon Brooks, a Findlay Prep product, added 14 points and four steals for the Grizzlies off the bench. Gian Clavell led Miami with 20 points.
“They (Miami) went on a good spurt, and I decided to go with the guys who were playing hard,” said Grizzlies coach Glynn Cyprien about being down 10 in the fourth quarter. “Dillon Brooks played well, and Wayne didn’t hit a lot of shots, but he hit them when it counted. I thought tonight our bench was phenomenal.”
Clavell hit the game-tying 3-pointer from the wing with 5.1 seconds left to tie the score at 90 and send the game into overtime.
The Mountain West Player of the Year last season at Colorado State received the third pass from an inbounds play and shot it over two defenders.
Memphis’ Wes Washpun missed the potential game-winning shot on the other end as time expired to send the game into a two-minute overtime.
— Ashton Ferguson
3:30 p.m.: Gutierrez banking on experience for roster spot
Caleb Swanigan has received the bulk of the credit for the Portland Trail Blazers’ stellar play at the NBA Summer League with his size and strength in the paint.
But up top, Jorge Gutierrez has flourished as the Blazers’ point guard.
Gutierrez, a product of Findlay Prep, filled the stat sheet Saturday with 10 points, four steals and three assists in 25 minutes during the Blazers’ 94-87 victory over the Spurs to advance to the semifinals.
“My experience has led to my minutes,” said Gutierrez, who is averaging 24 minutes in the league. “I know how to control the offense and lead the team.”
Gutierrez has played for four NBA teams and multiple international squads since turning pro in 2012 from California.
The Mexican-born guard isn’t the only former Findlay Prep standout on his team. He’s joined in the Portland backcourt by Nick Johnson.
“Nick got there a year after me, but we had some battles when he was at Arizona and I was at Cal,” Gutierrez said. “He’s part of the Findlay family, so I know him well.”
Gutierrez led the Pilots to their first national title game in 2008.
“We came up short, but they have won it a lot ever since,” Gutierrez said. “It’s always good to come back to Las Vegas. I feel comfortable here.”
— Gilbert Manzano
