The Houston Rockets nearly leapt past the Dallas Mavericks after trailing by double-digits in the second game of the day, but Dallas held off the Rockets to emerge with the win, 98-94. Maurice Ager led the way for Dallas with 19 points. Backcourt partner Jose Juan Barea struggled again but managed 13 points and 6 assists. The story for Houston continues to be first-round pick Aaron Brooks. The young point guard scored 28 points on 50% shooting and added 7 assists. Brooks' 9 turnovers did mar the performance somewhat but he is proving a definite offensive threat. The Mavericks have yet to lose a Summer League game this year.
The Memphis Grizzlies, behind the resurgent play of Rudy Gay, obliterated the Cleveland Cavaliers 100-76 in the third game on the docket. Gay scored 20 points in 22 minutes on a variety of shots, many contested. Dijon Thompson and Dwayne Jones led the Cavs with 17 and 15 points respectively, but the bigger story was the lackluster performance of Darius Rice who heretofore has had a nice run in Vegas. Rice hit only 2-for-7 shots and managed 7 points.
The Milwaukee Bucks manhandled the New Orleans Hornets 72-58 as the Hornets managed only 8 points in the final period and remained winless for the summer. Lynn Greer scored 15 for the Bucks and Anthony Roberson led the Hornets with 16. Heralded rookie Julian Wright went 0-9 from the floor, looking lost in a discouraging outing.
The New York Knicks kept themselves in the ranks of the undefeated, downing the Sacramento Kings 96-84 in the fifth game of the day. Big-league, Big Apple favorite Nate Robinson destroyed the Kings early on his way to 21 points and 10 assists. Demetris Nichols, acquired on draft night from the Portland Trail Blazers in the Zach Randolph trade, proved valuable again, scoring 17. Spencer Hawes looked impressive yet again for the Kings, proving boo-birds around the league might be wrong. He scored 22 points. Pooh Jeter also scored 22 for the Kings, combining with Hawes for over half of Sacramento's points. Hawes and Jeter combined to shoot 19-for-40 for the game. The entire rest of the Kings' roster went 12-33.
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves took the floor for the final game of the evening, which saw Randy Foye's 23 points go to waste as the Clippers pounded the 'Wolves late in the game for an 85-73 victory. The Clippers mounted a team effort with four players in double figures led by center Paul Davis with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Regular-season roster veteran Chris Kaman also played, scoring 15 himself. The Wolves' Craig Smith had another impressive game with 17 points and 9 rebounds, but wings Rashad McCants and Corey Brewer combined to shoot 3-for-24, hamstringing the team's comeback efforts.
By this point in Summer League you are starting to see who the focus players on each team are. Many of the main guys are getting the same touches and shot opportunities while others are relegated to the sideline. However there's still considerable variance in how well these players do when the pressure is on. Players like Brooks and Stuckey have emerged to almost own the place. Others like Wright and Brewer are up and down. This is the nature of the beast and a prelude of the roller coaster of the NBA season for young players.
