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NBA Summer League Day 7: Laker’s Larry Nance Jr. injured in last 35 seconds of an 88-80 loss to the Cavaliers.
Play has begun at Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center for Day 7 of the NBA Summer League, the first day of the Summer League’s elimination tournament. We’re live-blogging from the arena’s all day.
Follow our live blog below.
10:07 p.m.
Larry Nance Jr. injured his wrist with 35 seconds to go in the Lakers 88-80 loss to the Cavaliers.
The Los Angeles forward was attempting to take the ball to the rim but collided with another player and fell hard on his wrist. He went immediately to the locker room and was seen after the game with a wrap on his wrist.
He was taken to have X-rays but the results were not available after the game.
“Obviously, we hope for the best,” Lakers Summer League coach Jesse Mermuys said. “It’s not great news. He’s a great kid, he’s a hard worker. He’ll get back sooner than whatever they say.”
9:50 p.m.
Golden State’s Patrick McCaw played two seasons at UNLV, but never shot a basketball in the Cox Pavilion until Thursday night.
The second-rounder, who played his college games in the adjacent Thomas & Mack Center, didn’t disappoint against the undefeated Toronto Raptors (4-0).
“This is my first time shooting a ball in the Cox (Pavilion),” McCaw said after a 75-69 loss. “First time ever. This is where the girls play at, so I’m rarely over here. It was a great night for me. I had fun.”
McCaw finished with a game-high 28 points in 37:05 minutes. He finished 10-for-17 from the field, including 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
It was his highest scoring performance so far in the summer league. Perhaps most impressive is that it was against second-year Raptors guys Delon Wright (Utah) and Norman Powell (UCLA).
“The coaches were on me about this game,” McCaw said. “(Toronto) had four NBA guys on the roster that are on the summer league roster. They just told me to come out and play aggressive. That’s what I did. My shot was falling. Once I see the first one go in, it’s pretty much a wrap from there. I’m just feeling it automatically. I just went out there and played my game at both ends and had fun.”
McCaw remembers what it was like to sneak into the summer league as a UNLV player, and now he’s enjoying the moment as a professional athlete.
“I was excited to come out to Vegas for the summer league,” McCaw said. “This is something I’ve been watching the past two years here. Sneaking in and trying to see the best players compete. And now that I’m a part of it, having the chance to showcase my talent, it was a joy to have the fans here supporting me and to play well.”
McCaw probably won’t be a big scoring option next season when he’s on the floor with Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, but he certainly showed he’s capable of pouring it in Thursday. He had 25 of his 28 points at the end of the third quarter.
“Well, he had 28 points so he was a hell of a scorer tonight,” Warriors summer league coach Jarron Collins said. “Pat’s had a fantastic summer league. His whole way around, starting in Santa Cruz when we were doing two-a-days. He sees the floor very well, plays with a lot of poise, and tonight, he was able to make shots.”
8:48 p.m.
D’Angelo Russell stopped to sign a fan’s shirt during second-half warm-ups.
The Lakers lead the Cavaliers 52-36 at the break and Russell has a team-high 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
8:30 p.m.
Norman Powell has returned to action for the Raptors. Apparently, the injury isn’t serious enough to keep him out.
Raptors lead 68-62 with 3:29 left in the fourth quarter.
Former UNLV guard Patrick McCaw leads all scorers with 25 points for the Warriors.
8:08 p.m.
Toronto’s Norman Powell just walked back — albeit gingerly — to the team bench. Hard to imagine he’ll re-enter this game, but it doesn’t look as bad as people initially thought.
8:01 p.m.
Norman Powell, who arguably has been Toronto’s best player in this year’s summer league, was just helped off the court by team members after tumbling in the Raptors-Warriors game in the Cox Pavilion.
Powell, a second-year guard out of UCLA, was fighting through a screen when he went down with 8:13 left in the third quarter. He was immediately surrounded by his teammates, and put little weight on his left leg as he walked to the locker room.
The Raptors led 42-37 when Powell went down.
8:00 p.m.
A decidedly pro-Lakers crowd has been vocal early at Thomas & Mack.
Los Angeles is out to a 14-5 lead nearly halfway through the first quarter against the Cavaliers, and the crowd has been loud with every basket.
Cheers of “Larry” and “Zu” have erupted when forward Larry Nance Jr. and center Ivica Zubac have made buckets.
Lakers head coach Luke Walton is sitting courtside at the game, one seat away from Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue.
7:42 p.m.
Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray combined to make one of the most formidable backcourts in all of college basketball last season at Kentucky.
The former Wildcats, now playing for two separate NBA teams, each got a blast from the past Thursday.
With their team’s second-year stars sitting out, Ulis and Murray both took on expanded roles and scored 20 points apiece in back-to-back games in the Cox Pavilion.
Ulis, who was selected in the second round and 34th overall by Phoenix, had 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting in the Suns’ 77-74 win over the Miami Heat.
“It felt like Kentucky again,” Ulis said. “Me and Jamal had to do a lot of the scoring so I tried to step up in that role this game.”
The 5-foot-10-inch standout also dished out eight assists for the Suns, who were without Devin Booker — the summer league’s second-leading scorer at 26 points per game. A team official confirmed that Booker was not with the team.
Murray, who was the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft by Denver, made 7 of 13 field goals, including three 3-pointers, en route to scoring 20 points in the Nuggets’ 80-60 win over the Utah Jazz.
The Nuggets played without Emmanuel Mudiay — the seventh overall pick in last year’s draft — so Murray played a team-high 27:06 minutes.
“We’re both competitive, and when we are on the same team we’re deadly,” Murray said. “We miss those days back at Kentucky, but now that we’re in the NBA, we know what we’ve got to do.”
Murray also had five rebounds for Denver.
“I thought today he was much more efficient with his jump shot,” Nuggets summer league coach Micah Nori said. “He didn’t force anything, bailed us out on a couple of possessions. I think his assist numbers are down, because a lot of it was him initiating on pick and rolls and making a pass. It was more hockey assists.”
As fate would have it, the Suns-Nuggets will meet in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Thomas & Mack Center.
7:05 p.m.
Comedian Louie Anderson is sitting in the front row watching the Bulls play the Mavericks at Thomas & Mack.
Chicago leads 52-45 with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
Bulls guard Jimmy Butler has gone from sitting courtside to sitting on his team’s bench, and has joined the huddle a few times.
5:42 p.m.
Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg and guard Jimmy Butler are in Thomas & Mack to see Chicago play Dallas.
A group of young fans started a small “Jim-my” chant upon seeing Butler.
Bulls forward Doug McDermott is also watching the game.
5:10 p.m.
Kris Dunn stayed behind after the Timberwolves 89-85 win over the Grizzlies to sign autographs for fans.
The point guard was dressed in street clothes for the third game in a row, forced to sit out with a concussion. Dunn is still in the NBA concussion protocol and it’s unclear when or if he will return to the tournament.
“That’s out of my hands,” Minnesota Summer League coach Ryan Saunders said.
In Dunn’s stead, Tyus Jones has led the Timberwolves to two consecutive victories and a quarterfinals berth. Jones has averaged 18.7 points on 47 percent shooting in three games without Dunn.
His best game came against Memphis, where he scored 26 points, had 10 assists and grabbed four rebounds.
“I love it. I’ve been working with Tyus for the whole year so I obviously have a special relationship with him,” Saunders said. “So to see him push through things – he’s tough. I just have a lot of respect for Tyus.”
Jones gave Minnesota a four-point lead against Memphis after making a jumper with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He made two free throws 13 seconds later to keep it a two-possession game.
“I’m more comfortable each game,” Jones, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, said. “Coming in, as my second year, I was already way more comfortable than last year and I’m just trying to build on it each game.”
4:39 p.m.
Philadelphia center Jahlil Okafor saw former Duke teammate Rasheed Sulaimon watching the 76ers play the Nets, and went over to say hello and perform a secret handshake.
Philadelphia leads Brooklyn 44-41 at halftime despite Ben Simmons sitting out a second straight game. Sulaimon and the Bulls play the next game at Thomas & Mack.
Brooklyn GM Sean Marks sat in the stands.
4:15 p.m.
Hassan Whiteside, who recently signed a four-year extension to remain in Miami, took in the Heat-Suns summer league game in the Cox Pavilion on Thursday.
The NBA’s leader in blocks last season sat and cheered on the Heats’ bench in street clothes before recalling his time in the Las Vegas Summer League in 2010.
Whiteside, who played college basketball at Marshall, played with the Sacramento Kings after he was selected in the second round and 33rd overall that year. He joined the Heat in 2014.
“It was tough because you never know how long you’re going to be out there,” Whiteside said. “You don’t really know your teammates. It’s tough, but you try to make the best out of the situation.”
3:01 p.m.
Ben Simmons is in Thomas & Mack, but in street clothes.
The No. 1 pick in this year’s draft did not play Wednesday for the 76ers, and it does not appear he’ll play in Philadelphia’s game against Brooklyn today.
Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett is also in the arena. Bennett, who played for UNLV in college, recently signed a contract to join the Brooklyn Nets.
2:50 p.m.
Devin Booker, the summer league’s second-leading scorer at 26 points per game, is not dressed for Phoenix. A team official confirmed that Booker is not with the team.
2:45 p.m.
Indiana coach Tom Crean is in Cox Pavilion to watch former Hoosier Troy Williams, who is playing for Phoenix. With the summer high school basketball tournaments looming next week, expect more college coaches to drop by the summer league to watch their former players compete.
2:23 p.m.
Kris Dunn is once again sitting on the Timberwolves bench with a baseball cap.
The point guard is sitting out his third straight game with a concussion. Minnesota GM Scott Layden is watching from the stands but won’t get to watch the No. 5 pick in this year’s draft.
J.A. Adande reported on ESPN’s broadcast of the Timberwolves game against the Grizzlies there is some hope Dunn might be cleared from the NBA concussion protocol tomorrow.
The Timberwolves lead the Grizzlies 42-37 at halftime.
1:55 p.m.
Former NBA player Jerome “Junkyard Dog” Williams and NBA Legends in Southern Nevada are teaming up with the Center for Autism & Developmental Disabilities at Touro on Friday to host a free basketball clinic for children with Autism and other developmental disabilities.
Broken into two sessions of up to 50 kids each, Williams will teach teamwork and core basketball skills from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The JYD Project, Touro University Nevada student volunteers and clinicians from the Center will also help with the team. The JYD Project is a locally-based youth development organization created by Williams.
The Touro Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities in Henderson, Nevada opened in 2008 as a state-of-the-art facility designed with the special needs of children with developmental disabilities in mind.
1:50 p.m.
Atlanta leads Washington 37-25 at halftime in the Cox Pavilion for the first game of the day. The winner advances to face Dallas-Chicago in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Taurean Prince, the 12th pick in this year’s draft, has 10 points for Atlanta.
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