2023 NBA Las Vegas Summer League - Day 6 Recap

Clippers (2-1): 83 - Grizzlies (1-2): 74

The Clippers have won their second game in a row and were led by Jason Preston in this one. Preston padded the stats with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. For the Grizzlies, Kenneth Lofton Jr. had a double-double, scoring 24 points on 9-12 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. The real story of this game, though, was how the Clippers' bench dominated the Grizzlies'. All of the Clippers' bench players had a positive plus-minus score, whereas the Grizzlies' bench was all negative in that statistic.

Hawks (2-1): 99 - Timberwolves (0-3): 93

Tyrese Martin helped the Hawks close this game out by scoring 25 points and grabbing 9 rebounds, which were both team highs. The big difference in this game was free throws. The Hawks got to the line twice as many times and had a 15-point differential from free throws alone. This was, in large part, because Kobe Bufkin (7-9) and Mouhamed Gueye (7-7) combined for over half of the team's made free throws.

Mavericks (2-1): 98 - Warriors (0-3): 96

Lester Quinones scored a game-high 29 points while also grabbing 7 rebounds and assisting on 5 made field goals. However, this was not enough for the Warriors to win on Wednesday. The Mavericks prevailed in overtime and came out victorious due to a 21-point performance from second-year player Jaden Hardy. Dereck Lively also stepped up for Dallas by having 11 points and 10 rebounds while making an impact on the defensive end with 2 blocks.

Pistons (2-1): 94 - Raptors (0-3): 90

Ausar Thompson was the best player on the court in this matchup and helped the Pistons come back from being down double digits to beat the Raptors. Thompson had a very impressive performance and dazzled on both sides of the floor. He scored 17 points, caught 9 rebounds, stole the ball 4 times, and blocked 2 shots. Although Thompson played well, he has to work on limiting his turnovers so he doesn't have 7 like he did on Wednesday. For the Raptors, Gradey Dick played his best game this summer league by scoring a team-high 22 points.

Thunder (2-1): 98 - Pacers (2-1): 87

Chet Holmgren returned to action for the Thunder in this matchup and truly balled out. The big man scored 25 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and blocked an astonishing 5 shots. These are the kinds of games that make Oklahoma City fans believe Chet Holmgren could be the missing piece in order for them to become a playoff team. His length and shot-blocking ability make him an elite defender at the rim, and I expect him to be one of the premier shot-blockers in the league once the regular season begins.

Knicks (1-2): 82 - Magic (0-3): 80

The Knicks were victorious in this low-scoring game due to a big performance from Charlie Brown Jr., who scored 19 points and also had 4 blocks. The Magic would probably have won this game if they hadn't had 21 total team turnovers, which was 6 more than New York. Additionally, Orlando had a major fourth-quarter collapse, being outscored by twice as much. They were lucky Anthony Black sent this game to overtime on a buzzer-beating tip-in but still weren't able to close out the game. Rookie Jett Howard did play well, though, and had a team-high 21 points.

Jazz (3-0): 96 - Nuggets (0-3): 90

The Jazz stay unbeaten through the Las Vegas summer league by beating the Nuggets on Wednesday. Ochai Agbaji led Utah with 14 points and 7 rebounds. The team's rookie Keyonte George only played ten minutes and left due to a right ankle injury early on in the game. If he had played the full game, I imagine this game would not be this close.

Celtics (1-2): 95 - Lakers (2-1): 90

Jordan Walsh had another big game, scoring 25 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Additionally, Jay Scrubb came off the bench to help the Celtics with 18 points and 4 made three-pointers. Even though the Lakers lost this close one, Max Christie shined yet again with 24 points and 8 rebounds. He could be a pivotal part of the Los Angeles rotation by the time the regular season rolls around.