Rookie Al Thornton displayed amazing athleticism as his 19 points and 10 rebounds anchored the Los Angeles Clippers in their 90-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Thornton dazzled with an array of dunks and jumpers, both released at the apex of his considerable leaps. Regular-season ringer Chris Kaman led the Clippers in scoring with 21 and added 9 rebounds. The Grizzlies were led by reserve Kyle Lowry who scored 20. Mike Conley Jr. dished out 8 assists but also made 6 turnovers and shot only 2-for-10 for 9 points. Both Memphis and Los Angeles are 2-2 heading into the weekend.
Glen "Big Baby" Davis scored 16 and was one of three players with 9 rebounds for the Boston Celtics, who used rebounding dominance to assure themselves a win over the Milwaukee Bucks 84-76. Gabe Pruitt and Allan Ray added 14 points apiece for the Celtics. Athletic wingman David Noel paced the Bucks with 18. The Celtics are 3-1 for the summer and the Bucks 2-2.
The Denver Nuggets ran the Los Angeles Lakers halfway back over the border in a stunning 120-88 victory which saw Denver coach George Karl in the stands observing his team play against his son. Denver's Von Wafer continued his amazing Summer League run with 22 points in 20 minutes. Wafer is rapidly becoming one of the main stories in Vegas. Four Nuggets scored 18+ points as the team shot 54% as a whole and blew away Los Angeles with 9 steals for the game. Five Lakers scored in double figures but none topped 13. The Nuggets stand at 3-1. The Lakers are 2-2.
Aaron Brooks continues to grab headlines for the Houston Rockets, scoring 23 points on an array of blitzing moves as the Rockets handled the Washington Wizards 74-69. Nobody here has the quickness to stay in front of Brooks and folks will be watching in November to see if that holds true of the league as well. Steve Novak added 17 for the Rockets. Not to be outdone, the Wizards' imported big forward Oleksiy Pecherov netted a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. He and Nick Young (14 points) were the only two Wizards in double figures however. The Rockets are 2-1 so far, the Wizards 0-3.
League King LeBron James came to the Thomas and Mack Center to see crown prince Kevin Durant of the Seattle SuperSonics put on a show Friday night and Durant did not disappoint. He torched the Golden State Warriors for 32 points, most from the free-throw line where he shot 13-for-16. Though he was only 9-for-23 from the field, Durant's silky moves continually inspired the crowd on hand, significantly larger because of his presence. Jeff Green played second fiddle for the Sonics, scoring 15 points. Nobody else came close though and the Sonics went down to defeat at the hands of the Warriors' more balanced attack, 85-74. Five Warriors scored in double figures and Josh Powell notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Warriors are 3-1 with one game remaining while the Sonics have yet to win a game at 0-4.
