Summer League action is underway and the Warriors faced the Sixers in the scorching hot desert of Las Vegas. The Warriors are the inaugural champions of this tournament and while they are winning the hardware that counts, it wouldn’t hurt if these young players added yet another trophy to this franchise’s collection.
Here’s a quick recap of the game:
Damian Jones got the first bucket of the game. The big man from Vanderbilt missed most of last season and is finally looking healthy. The Warriors got off to a fast start that included a triple from Pat McCaw, who quite frankly is too good to be playing in the Summer league. His early triples gave the Warriors an early 15-10 lead. As the quarter was winding down, the game started to get a little closer. Marcella Fultz had some buckets early on for the Sixers and fellow rookie Jordan Bell has a nasty block after being quiet to start the game. The game didn’t have much entertainment and after one quarter of play, the score was 27-27.
Kevon Looney was feeling it to start the second quarter and quickly scored five points, including a triple that hit nothing but net. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Jonah Bolden, Looney’s former teammate at UCLA matched him and the Sixers took a two point lead. McCaw came back into the game and right away makes his presence felt. Fultz has a nice touch with the ball, can knock it down from anywhere on the floor. McCaw kept on showing why he’s going to be a good NBA player and finished the half with 16 points. Jones and Looney both had seven points and Bell had a modest four in the first half.
MCCaw kept on shooting the rock very well and the Warriors started to build a little separation to start the third quarter. Everybody in the arena was expecting Fultz to ball out here in Las Vegas, but the number one overall pick sprained his ankle by stepping on Jabari Brown’s foot and had to be helped off the floor. We might not see him for the rest of the Summer League, the Sixers will not want to take any chances. After Fultz left the game, the Warriors capitalized and extended their lead to 12, giving them a good cushion to work with for the rest of the game. Of course I spoke too soon and the Sixers made this a game as the third quarter was winding down. Shots weren’t falling and the Sixers took momentum into the final period and only a six point deficit. .
With McCaw out of the game, the Sixers took advantage. After a couple shots fell, they just kept gaining confidence and before you knew it, it was a tie ball game. MCCaw and Jones went back into the game to secure the victory, but the Sixers were scrappy and fought back. As time was winding down, both teams were trading buckets. After a turnover from the Warriors, Larry Drew II hit a difficult jumper to put the Sixers ahead by two with only a few seconds remaining. McCaw was able to get a clean look from deep and it looked good, but it rattled out. The Warriors fell to the Sixers 95-93.