Grizzlies, Heat to meet in NBA Summer League title game
Scotty Pippen Jr. has gotten to show more and more of his game as the NBA Summer League has gone on.
He saved his best for Sunday to push the Memphis Grizzlies to the brink of a championship.
Pippen Jr., the son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the Grizzlies’ 99-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in a semifinal game at Thomas & Mack Center.
Memphis will play the Miami Heat for the NBA Summer League championship at 5 p.m. Monday.
“Our guys played their tails off. We just continued to compete,” Grizzlies coach Jason March said.
Pippen Jr. appeared in 21 games for Memphis last season, his second in the NBA. The former Vanderbilt standout averaged 12.9 points, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
He’s used that experienced to dominate the NBA Summer League so far. Pippen Jr. is averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game in the event.
“Summer League MVP,” March said. “He’s the best player out here.”
Pippen Jr. didn’t shy away from that claim.
“I’ll let the numbers and the game speak for themselves,” he said.
The Grizzlies (5-0) are looking for their first NBA Summer League championship since 2019. They haven’t lost a game in the event despite the fact that ninth overall pick Zach Edey has played only 8:35 due to an ankle injury.
Pippen Jr. is one of several players who picked up the slack.
The 23-year-old made all 10 of his free-throw attempts Sunday and was 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Jaylen Wells, who Memphis took in the second round of June’s draft, scored a team-high 28 points while shooting 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.
The Clippers still made the Grizzlies sweat. Los Angeles guard Kobe Brown missed a free throw with 1.7 seconds left that would have tied the game.
“I think we’ve grown a lot, knowing we’re going to face some adversity,” Pippen Jr. said. “It’s hard to come into Vegas after meeting guys for a couple of weeks and trying to play a bunch of games with each other.”
The Heat (5-0) will play for the NBA Summer League title for the first time after defeating the Golden State Warriors 102-99 on Sunday.
Josh Christopher scored a team-high 23 points for Miami, which had five players score at least 14 points.
Christopher, a 2021 first-round pick out of Arizona State, made an impact on the court and in the stands. He collided with fans twice in the second half while trying to make a play on the ball.
“They said they were good, so my apologies,” Christopher said. “I’m just trying to get a win here, and I vocalized that to them.”
The Warriors hung around thanks to forward Kevin Knox II, the ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft. He had 31 points and 10 rebounds in 30:17.
The Heat still emerged with the win thanks to their balanced attack.
Forward Pelle Larsson had 21 points, six assists and four steals. Center Kel’el Ware added 18 points and five rebounds in 23:20.
“Going into Summer League, this was our goal,” Heat coach Dan Bisaccio said. “We talked about going to the championship game and winning the championship. Our guys handled adversity really well.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
