Bulls win ugly game
John Lucas erupted for 25 points to help Chicago roll to an easy 79-50 win over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday evening in an NBA Vegas Summer League game at Cox Pavilion.
Morris Almond added 14 points and BYU alum Trent Plaisted scored 13 in the victory.
Al-Farouq Aminu was the only Clipper in double-figures with 13 points. Los Angeles made just 16 of 57 attempts from the field and went a woeful 3-for-18 from the 3-point line.
The Clippers put up just six points in the second quarter, and didn’t do much better with a 10-point third quarter.
Over at the Thomas & Mack Center, J.J. Hickson lit up Phoenix for 34 points as the Cavaliers picked up a 93-82 victory.
Hickson hit 12 of 19 from the field and went 10-for-13 from the free-throw line, while also pulling down nine rebounds. Pooh Jeter had 13 points and six assists for the Cavaliers.
Matt Janning had 22 points to pace the Suns. Gani Lawal added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Scottie Reynolds had eight points and nine assists in the loss.
High-paid spectators
The Clippers and Bulls summer league teams played a forgettable game as the Bulls cruised to an easy win.
Neither team featured any name that would instantly excite the fans here at Cox Pavilion.
But a few big name players were very close to the action.
Derrick Rose, Chicago’s star point guard, sat in the front row to check out his potential teammates.
Clippers forward Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, actually sat on the bench with his teammates.
Griffin missed the entire season due to injury, but is back working out and is expected to be ready for the season.
In fact, Griffin was listed on the summer league roster. He is not playing, however, and is not expected to take part in summer league even though he was listed as DNP-Coach’s decision on the box score.
Something tells me the organization did not leave the decision on whether to play Griffin today up to summer league head coach Dean Demopolous.
LeBron’s past and future cross paths
Byron Scott sat courtside at the Thomas & Mack Center watching his Cleveland Cavaliers summer league team beat Phoenix.
There’s nothing strange about that.
It only became a bizarre sight when the team scheduled to take the court in the next game came strolling in and took their seats right next to him.
That team was the Miami Heat.
You have to believe he was thinking that maybe it would be in his best interests to make like LeBron and ditch the Cavs to head to South Beach.
He was already sitting with them. He wouldn’t have even needed to have an hour long special.
Scott would have just had to change his shirt.
Job fair
Larry Hughes stopped by the summer league today.
He is currently an unemployed shooting guard. Hughes finished the year with the Charlotte Bobcats, who are one of the few NBA teams not represented here this week.
Hughes is looking for work and hasn’t really been in the discussion as far as best available free agents.
Perhaps he was just trying to be noticed by someone, who would then write about them in a blog to help get his name back in the minds of NBA people.
If so, mission accomplished.
Good luck Larry. It’s a tough job market out there.