By R.L. Bynum
Why don’t Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson have spots on an NBA rosters? With performances like they produced on Thursday night, it’s surprising that no team has signed him.
Jackson went for 33 points and six 3-pointers with six rebounds and four assists. Teammate Pinson had a double-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds, four 3-pointers, seven assists, four steals and two blocks on Thursday night in their Texas Legends’ 136–129 road loss to the Osceola Magic.
Jackson made 11 of 16 shots and 6 of 10 3-pointers while Pinson made 4 of 7 3-point attempts.
The four steals for Pinson was a career G League record.
Fellow Legends teammate Tony Bradley, and teammate on the 2017 UNC national championship team, was again inactive for the game and hasn’t made his season debut.
Texas rallied to make it close after trailing by 28 points with 5:40 left in the third quarter and Jackson scored five of the Legends’ 12 consecutive points. The Legends were down by 23 early in the final quarter and cut the deficit to five with 1:40 but could come no closer.
In the NBA on Thursday, Cam Johnson had another good night with 16 points, three 3-pointers, four rebounds, three assists and a steal, but in a 122–115 road loss to Miami, which has won seven consecutive games. Johnson had a 12.3 game score after putting up a 19.3 two nights earlier in a win over Orlando
In 15 minutes for the Nets, Day’Ron Sharpe had two points and five rebounds.
Coby White’s Chicago Bulls and Cole Anthony’s Orlando Magic play for the second time in Chicago in three nights on Friday after the Magic won 96–94 on Wednesday night on a jumper by former Duke star Paolo Banchero with one second left.
Anthony had the better game between the two UNC alums with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and a 10.7 game score. White struggled with his shot and was 2 of 10 for five points, his first game failing to score in double figures in the last eight.
Also on Wednesday, Harrison Barnes scored 13 points and three 3-pointers in Sacramento’s 125–110 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers despite LeBron James’ 108th career triple-double (28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds). He tied his career-high with four steals, which he’s now done four times, for the Kings (6–4).
Nassir Little scored two points in four minutes Wednesday in Phoenix’s 133–115 home win over Minnesota. In the last seven Suns games, he’s only played twice, and for just over seven minutes.
Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic guard
Age 23 | 6–3, 185 | fourth NBA season | $5,539,771 salary | UNC 2019–20 (1 season)
Roster situation — Backup point guard behind Markelle Fultz
96–94 Wednesday win at Chicago — 22 minutes, 16 points, 6–11 FG, 2–3 3FG, 2–2 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, +4, 10.7 game score
Season statistics — 11 games, 13.5 points, 42.6 FG%, 36.4 3P%, 81.6 FT%, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Next game — 8 p.m. Friday at Chicago
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings forward
Age 31 | 6–8, 225 | 12th NBA season | $17,000,000 salary | UNC 2010–12 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting small forward ahead of Chris Duarte
125–110 Wednesday win at Los Angeles Lakers — Started; 39 minutes, 13 points, 5–10 FG, 3–6 3FG, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, +16, 10.5 game score
Season statistics — 10 games, 11.4 points, 48.1 FG%, 40.0 3P%, 78.3 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Next game — 7:30 Friday at San Antonio, ESPN
Leaky Black, Charlotte Hornets guard
Age 24 | 6–9, 209 | rookie NBA season | UNC 2018–23 (5 seasons)
Roster situation — Reserve role; could play many games for G League’s Greensboro Swarm
111–105 Tuesday loss vs. Miami — 3 minutes, 0 points, 0–2 FG, 0–1 3FG, -4, -1.4 game score
Season statistics — 3 games, 14 minutes, 5 points, 2–5 FG, 1–2 3PFG, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Next game — 7 p.m. Friday vs. Milwaukee, Bally Sports SE
Reggie Bullock, Houston Rockets guard
Age 32 | 6–6, 205 | 11th NBA season | $10,489,600 salary | UNC 2010–13 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup at small forward behind Dillon Brooks
107–104 Sunday win vs. Denver — Didn’t play (coach’s decision)
Season statistics — 5 games, 586 minutes, 6 points, 2–8 FG, 2–7 3FG, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Next game — 10:30 Friday at Los Angeles Clippers
Cameron Johnson, Brooklyn Nets forward
Age 27 | 6–8, 210 | fifth NBA season | $25,679,348 salary | UNC 2017–19 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting small forward ahead of Royce O’Neale
122–115 Thursday loss at Miami — Started; 27 minutes, 16 points, 5–10 FG, 3–6 3FG, 3–3 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, +18, 12.3 game score
Season statistics — 5 games, 14.6 points, 43.3 FG%, 35.3 3P%, 81.8 FT%, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals
Next game — 3 p.m. Sunday vs. Philadelphia
Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz center
Age 22 | 7–0, 245 | second NBA season | $2,831,160 salary | UNC 2020–21 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center ahead of Kelly Olynyk
115–99 Tuesday win vs. Portland — Kessler will miss a few more games with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his left elbow.
Season statistics — 8 games, 8.3 points, 54.9 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 61.5 FT%, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks
Next game — 10 p.m. Friday vs. Phoenix, ESPN
Nassir Little, Phoenix Sun wing
Age 23 | 6–4, 220 | fifth NBA season | $6,250,060 salary | UNC 2018–19 (1 season)
Roster situation — Will compete for time off the bench behind Josh Okogie at small forward (with Keita Bates-Diop, Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon) and behind Kevin Durant at power forward (with Yuta Watanabe and Baits-Diop).
133–115 Wednesday win vs. Minnesota — 4 minutes, 2 points, 1–1 FG, 1 foul, -3, 1.3 game score
Season statistics — 6 games, 3.5 points, 46.7 FG%, 30.0 3P%, 4–4 FT, 1.2 rebounds, 0.8 of a steal
Next game — 10 p.m. Friday at Utah, ESPN
Day’Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn Nets center
Age 21 | 6–9, 265 | third NBA season | $2,210,040 salary | UNC 2020–21 (1 season)
Roster situation — Backup center behind Nic Claxton
122–115 Thursday loss at Miami — 15 minutes, 2 points, 1–6 FG, 5 rebounds, 1 turnover, -6, -0.5 game score
Season statistics — 12 games, 6.7 points, 53.4 FG%, 0–2 3P, 64.3 FT%, 6.5 rebounds, 0.4 of an assist, 0.5 of a block
Next game — 3 p.m. Sunday vs. Philadelphia
Coby White, Chicago Bulls guard
Age 23 | 6–5, 195 | fifth NBA season | $11,111,111 salary | UNC 2018–19 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter ahead of Jevon Carter
96–94 Wednesday loss vs. Orlando — Started; 33 minutes, 5 points, 2–10 FG, 1–5 3FG, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, +5, -3.8 game score
Season statistics — 12 games, 12.0 points, 38.1 FG%, 30.9 3P%, 81.0 FT%, 2.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals
Next game — 8 p.m. Friday vs. Orlando
In G League
Tony Bradley, Texas Legends center
Age 25 | 6–11, 248 | seventh pro season | UNC 2016–17 (1 season)
136–129 Thursday loss at Osceola — Inactive for game; still hasn’t made his season debut
Next game — 4 p.m. Sunday at Birmingham
Justin Jackson, Texas Legends guard
Age 28 | 6–8, 220 | seventh pro season | UNC 2014–17 (3 seasons)
136–129 Thursday loss at Osceola — Started; 38 minutes, 33 points, 11–16 FG, 6–10 3FG, 3–3 FT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 foul, +11
Season statistics — 2 games, 23.3 points, 53.3 FG%, 45.5 3P%, 100 FT%, 6.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.3 of a steal
Next game — 4 p.m. Sunday at Birmingham
Pete Nance, Cleveland Charge
Age 23 | 6–10, 225 | rookie pro season | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
129–116 Tuesday loss at Sioux Falls — Didn’t start; 20 minutes, 6 points, 2–3 FG, 0–1 3PFG, 1–1 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 fouls, 1 steal, 1 block, -3
Season statistics — 3 games, 8.3 points, 35.7 FG%, 1–7 3FG, 8–8 FT, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.6 of a steal
Next game — 6 p.m. Saturday at Windy City
Theo Pinson, Texas Legends guard
Age 27 | 6–7, 212 | sixth pro season | UNC 2014–18 (4 seasons)
136–129 Thursday loss at Osceola — Didn’t start; 30 minutes, 21 points, 5–13 FG, 4–7 3FG, 4–4 FT, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 fouls, 4 steals, 1 turnover, 2 blocks
Season statistics — 3 games, 20.0 points, 41.7 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 100 FT%, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.3 blocks
Next game — 4 p.m. Sunday at Birmingham
What is a game score?
Get an explanation of the game score metric here. Michael Jordan produced the all-time-high game score of 64.6 on March 28, 1990, in the Chicago Bulls’ 117–113 overtime win at Cleveland. Jordan had 69 points on 23 of 37 shooting (2 of 6 from 3-point range), made 21 of 23 free-throw attempts and collected 18 rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block.
Photo @TexasLegends
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