The Las Vegas Summer League’s leading scorer, Bryn Forbes, continued his summer onslaught with 29 points and five assists in the Spurs’ Round 2 86-81 victory over the Pelicans on Thursday.
All of Thursday’s winners advanced to the quarterfinal round while the losers were eliminated from tournament play that began Wednesday.
The Spurs guard has been a terror for opposing teams as San Antonio improved to 3-1 in Vegas. Forbes began the day averaging a Summer League-high 29.3 points in the first three games after going undrafted in 2016. The former Michigan State Spartan knocked down a crossover, pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Spurs an 81-78 lead with 1:02 remaining in the game. San Antonio never trailed again.
Derrick White, the former Division II player who went No. 29 in the 2017 draft, finished with 15 points.
Pelicans (1-4) guard Quinn Cook cooled off with a team-high 16 points and seven assists after averaging 21.8 points in his first four games.
In other action:
CELTICS 93, WARRIORS 69
The Celtics led from start to finish and simply ran the Warriors off the court with a 20-5 first quarter. Boston (4-0) didn’t play, or miss, the last two No. 3 picks in the draft in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Jabari Bird, a 2017 second-round pick, took advantage of the opening with 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Ante Zizic, the 2016 No. 23 overall pick, has gained steam as the summer league has progressed. He had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with three blocks. Forward Rosco Allen scored 18 off the bench.
The Warriors (1-4) have been focused on getting extra court time for second-year player Patrick McCaw, who earned rotation minutes with the champs during his rookie season. He scored 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
NETS 85, NUGGETS 74
Second-year Nuggets guard Malik Beasley scored a game-high 20 points as Denver (1-4) fell to the Nets (3-1). The 2016 No. 19 pick entered the summer league preparing for a larger role in 2017-18 and averaged 19.3 points in his first four games. Denver, as a whole, struggled to score and trailed by 19 after being dominated in the third quarter.
The Nets got a total team effort Thursday as seven players scored eight or more. Isaiah Whitehead scored a team-high 14 points and veteran Spencer Dinwiddie added 13. Caris LeVert is trying to build on a 26-start rookie year last season, but scored 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson posted nine points and eight rebounds as Brooklyn continues to try to get experience from its young veterans, even if they played heavy regular-season minutes.
HEAT 91, CLIPPERS 84
The Heat (4-1) got big production from the diminutive Justin Robinson in the narrow victory. The 5-foot-8, undrafted guard from Monmouth scored 22 points and handed out six assists. Robinson hit a step back jumper to take an 80-78 lead with 3:38 remaining. The Clippers never lead again as a 10-1 stretch late in the fourth quarter put Los Angeles away.
Okaro White scored a game-high 23 points, including four 3-pointers, and added eight rebounds for the Heat as Gian Clavell chipped in 20.
The 2016 No. 25 overall pick Brice Johnson led the Clippers (3-1) with 13 while Jamil Wilson scored 11 off the bench and Kendall Marshall added 10.
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