NBA Summer League roundup: Kings rout Celtics to win title

Tuesday’s results

Dallas 83, Miami 82

Philadelphia 103, Utah 98

Houston 95, Portland 92

Toronto 86, Brooklyn 72

L.A. Lakers 84, Golden State 76

New Orleans 87, Minnesota 59

Sacramento 100, Boston 67, championship

Kings of summer

The Celtics opened the championship game with a 12-2 lead.

After that, it was all Sacramento.

The Kings captured the NBA Summer League title with a 33-point victory.

“Everybody was locked in,” Kings Summer League coach Bobby Jackson said. “These guys were locked into what we were selling, and it carried over to the Summer League.”

Louis King was named game MVP after totaling 21 points and five steals for the Kings. He also made 4 of 8 3-pointers.

“We started off slow,” King said. “Our defense picked up, and we started making shots.”

Excitement at the Mack

Cox Pavilion has been the place to watch the most exciting endings during this year’s Summer League, but the Thomas & Mack Center was the showcase destination on the final day.

It began when Feron Hunt’s putback with 12.4 seconds left gave the Mavericks a one-point victory over the Heat. In the same game, former UNLV player Brandon McCoy totaled seven points and three rebounds for the Heat.

The game that followed also went down to the final minute. Armoni Brooks’ 3-pointer with 40.1 seconds left gave the Rockets a three-point lead over the Trail Blazers. Rockets teammate Usman Garuba blocked Antonio Blakeney on a layup on the following possession, and Houston later survived a last-second 3-point attempt by Blakeney that would have tied the game.

That final stretch capped a comeback for the Rockets, who trailed 88-80 with about 1:30 remaining.

Then the Lakers overcame three 17-point second-half deficits to beat the Warriors by eight. Golden State went cold in the fourth quarter, getting outscored 34-13.

The one dud at the Thomas & Mack was the championship game.

Blazers fall short again

As the most veteran team at the Summer League, the Blazers were 8-1 favorites to win the event.

They didn’t come close in going 2-3.

“If you look at where we started three weeks ago and how far we’ve come, I’m very pleased with the effort and how much progress we made from day one to today,” Blazers Summer League coach Roy Rogers said. “Obviously, we wanted a better record, but you can’t measure progress by the record. I thought we got better every day.”

He did lament blowing the late lead to the Rockets, but chalked it up to “a learning lesson.”

“NBA games aren’t over,” Rogers said. “I’d rather the guys learn that over the summer.”

Play of the day

It wasn’t all disappointing for the Blazers.

Rookie Greg Brown III had a breakaway dunk in which he put the ball through his legs while jumping for the slam. It brought the Portland bench to its feet and excited the crowd.

Rogers was blown away by the play and had trouble remembering seeing anything like that.

“It’s a rare glimpse into his athleticism,” Rogers said.

Brown said he tried that dunk in practice and was encouraged to do it in a game by a teammate.

“An opportunity came and it happened,” Brown said.

Player of the day

Brooks not only put the Rockets ahead for good but also scored 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting. He made 9 of 17 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds. Brooks tied the game at 90 with 40.4 seconds left by making a technical free throw.

Spotted

Kings head coach Luke Walton and associate head coach Alvin Gentry sat courtside during the championship game.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.