By R.L. Bynum
RJ Davis has had trouble finding his shooting rhythm during the NBA Summer League, bu everything clicked on Friday in the last of the Los Angeles Lakers’ eight games.
Playing a nearly 25½ minutes off the bench, the most time he’s had this summer, Davis made 6 of 11 field-goal attempts and scored a Summer League-best 17 points in the Lakers’ 106–84 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Las Vegas.
Davis was 3 of 5 from outside the arc, his first game with multiple 3-pointers in the Summer League, while dishing out three assists as he was running the offense for the Lakers for much of the game.
Davis, who has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers, came out of the game in the fourth quarter, though, after an apparent ankle injury. The severity of it wasn’t reported.
Davis got more playing time with Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Darius Bazley, Trey Jemison III and Eric Dixon all not playing in the game for the Lakers, who finished 1–4 in Las Vegas and 3–5 overall (they played three games in San Francisco).
In seven Summer League games, Davis scored 43 points in 102.2 minutes, shooting 38.1% from the floor and 23.8% from 3-point range with seven rebounds and 18 assists.
Davis is UNC’s all-time leader in free-throw percentage (86.4%), but shot only 66.7% at the line in the Summer League.
The only other UNC alum to play Friday was Cormac Ryan, who started and had nine points on 1 of 8 shooting from the floor and 7 of 7 shooting at the free-throw line, with six rebounds, an assist and a steal in his Milwaukee Bucks’ 93–92 loss to the Miami Heat.
Pete Nance wasn’t active in the game for the Bucks.
UNC alums playing on Saturday are:
— Leaky Black, whose Washington Wizards face the New York Knicks at 3:30 on NBATV.
— Kerwin Walton, whose Oklahoma City Thunder takes on the Charlotte Hornets in one of the two semifinal games at 6 p.m. on ESPN
— Garrison Brooks and Dawson Garcia, whose Detroit Pistons face Harrison Ingram and the San Antonio Spurs at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
— Caleb Love and Justin McKoy, whose Portland Trail Blazers meet the Phoenix Suns at 9:30 on NBATV
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Summer League Tar Heels
Friday, July 3, result
— Heat 88, Spurs 87 | RJ Davis: didn’t start, 18:20, 15 points, 4–8 FG, 3–5 3FG, 2–3 FT, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, team-high +16
Saturday, July 4, results
— Bucks 97, Warriors Blue 83 | Cormac Ryan: started, 18:39, 13 points, 3–8 FG, 3–6 3FG, 3–3 FT, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, +5 | Pete Nance: didn’t play (coach’s decision)
— Jazz 103, Hawks 102, OT | Henri Veesaar: didn’t start, 18:12, 5 points, 2–4 FG, 1–3 3FG, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 fouls, -13
— Kings 79, Nets 76 | Drake Powell: started: 27:01, 4 points, 0–9 FG, 0–5 3FG, 2–3 FT, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, -5
Sunday, July 5, results
— Nets 89, Bucks 69 | Neither Drake Powell, Cormac Ryan nor Pete Nance active for game
— Warriors Gold team 98, Spurs 69 | RJ Davis: didn’t start, 21:20, 2 points, 1–9 FG, 0–5 3FG, 1–1 FT, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, team-low -22
Monday, July 6, results
— Hawks 82, Thunder 77 | Henri Veesaar: didn’t start, 16:48, 2 points, 1–4 FG, 0–1 3FG, 7 rebounds, team-low -11
— Lakers 88, Spurs 84 | RJ Davis: started, 29:25, 18 points, 7–16 FG, 2–7 3FG, 2–4 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, team-high +10
— Nets 100, Warriors Gold team 79 | Drake Powell: started, 23:20, 2 points, 1–8 FG, 0–4 3FG, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, +20
— Kings 95, Bucks 89 | Cormac Ryan: not active for game
Tuesday, July 7, result
— Hawks 92, Grizzlies 82 | Henri Veesaar: Started, 23:32, 11 points, 4–9 FG, 2–5 3FG, 1–2 FT, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block 4 turnovers, 5 fouls, +5
All games below are in Las Vegas
Thursday, July 9, results
— Hawks 93, Spurs 66:
* Henri Veesaar (Hawks): didn’t start, 19:00, 14 points, 5–8 FG, 2–5 3FG, 1–2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, +17; Summer League totals: 8.0 points, 48 FG%, 45.7 3P%, 2–4 FT, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2 blocks
* RJ Davis (Spurs): started; 24:42, 12 points, 5–10 FG, 0–3 3FG, 2–3 FT, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, team-low -20
— Wizards 92, Jazz 88 | Seth Trimble: didn’t start; 11:45, 2 points, 1–2 FG, 0–1 3FG, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, +6
Friday, July 10, results
— Heat 119, Bucks 86:
* Pete Nance: started, 26;15, 16 points, 6–10 FG, 4–8 3FG, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, -14 (first game of the summer)
* Cormac Ryan: didn’t start, 22:07, 7 points, 2–7 FG, 1–4 3FG, 1–1 FT, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, team-low -28
— Nets 91, Knicks 65 | Drake Powell: started; 20:55, 1 point, 0–7 FG, 0–3 3FG, 1–1 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, +7 |
— Grizzlies 97, Bulls 96 | Caleb Wilson: started, 32:56, 35 points,12–21 FG, 7–11 3FG, 2–6 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 6 turnovers, 2 fouls, -11
Saturday, July 11, results
— Spurs 70, Knicks 49 | RJ Davis: didn’t start, 18:16, 5 points, 2–9 FG, 1–5 3FG, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, +4
— Hawks 83, Nets 76:
* Henri Veesaar: didn’t start, 16:52, 6 points, 3–5 FG, 0–1 3FG, 0–1 FT, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, +15
* Drake Powell: started, 4 points, 0–4 FG, 0–2 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, +1
Sunday, July 12, results
— Wizards 104, Kings 85 | Seth Trimble: didn’t start; 20:07, 8 points, 3–10 FT, 0–3 3FG, 1–1 FT, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 foul, -4
— Spurs 90, Bucks 80
* RJ Davis: started; 28:54, 20 points, 6–16 FG, 2–7 3FG, 4–7 FT, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, game-high +22
* Pete Nance: started, 23:54, 8 points, 3–6 FG, 2–4 FT, 0–1 FT, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 7 fouls, +2
* Cormac Ryan: didn’t start; 15 points, 5–13 FG, 3–7 3FG, 1–4 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, team-low -9 | Summer League totals: 5 games, 42 points, 12–35 FG, 7–21 3FG, 6–10 FT, 21 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks
Monday‘s results
— Hawks 102, Celtics 90 | Henri Veesaar: started, 23:08, 20 points, 7–12 FG, 4–6 3FG, 1–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, -7 | Veesaar Summer League totals: 6 games, 9.7 points, 52.4 FG%, 42.9 3P%, 42.9 FT%, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.5 of a steal, 0.8 of a block
— Jazz 80, Bulls 63 | Caleb Wilson: started, 29:27, 19 points, 8–17 FG, 3–8 3FG, 0–6 FT, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 blocks, 4 turnovers, 5 fouls, -14
— Suns 95, Bucks 88 | Pete Nance: started; 23:30, 7 points, 3–7 FG, 1–2 3FG, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 fouls, -10 | Cormac Ryan didn’t play (coach’s decision)
Tuesday’s results
— Nets 115, Kings 83 | Drake Powell: started, 21:04, 18 points, 6–10 FG, 4–7 3FG, 1–1 FT, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, +16
— Bulls 99, Wizards 87:
* Caleb Wilson: started. 23:51, 19 points, 7–15 FG, 2–6 3FG, 1–1 FT. 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, -1
* Seth Trimble: started, 27:51, 27:51, 13 points, 2–7 FG, 1–3 3FG, 4–4 FT, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, -9
Wednesday’s results
— Bucks 110, Hornets 91 | Pete Nance: started, 26:35, 11 points, 4–9 FG, 3–8 3FG, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, game-high +25 | Nance Summer League totals: 4 games, 10.5 points, 60.0 FG%, 45.5 3P%, 0–1 FT, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.5 of a steal, 1.0 block | Cormac Ryan didn’t play (coach’s decision) |
— Spurs 94, Jazz 82 | RJ Davis: started; 14 points, 5–12 FG, 1–6 3FG, 1–1 FT, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, +3
— Clippers 108, Wizards 94 | Seth Trimble: started; 26:59, 24 points, 8–12 FG, 2–5 3FG, 4–5 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, team-low -22
Thursday’s results
— Rockets 100, Nets 83 | Drake Powell: started, 24:46, 6 points, 1–6 FG, 0–4 3FG, 2–2 FT, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 steals, 1 block , -13 | Powell Summer League totals: 6 games, 5.8 points,18.2 FG%, 16.0 3P%, 88.9 FT%, 3.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.2 steals, 0.3 of a block, 1.7 turnovers
— Lakers 105, Bulls 82 | Caleb Wilson: started, 24:25, 21 points, 7–15 FG, 1–6 3fG, 3–5 FT, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 8 turnovers, 4 fouls, -26 | Wilson Summer League totals: 4 games, 23.5 points, 50.0 FG%, 41.9 3P%, 33.3 FT%, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 2.5 blocks, 5.2 turnovers
— Grizzlies 96, Hawks 64 | Henri Veesaar: started, 5 points, 2–6 FG, 1–3 3FG, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 6 fouls, -20
Saturday’s consolation results
Bucks 96, Sixers 94 | Pete Nance: started, 25:48, 11 points, 3–7 FG, 3–6 3FG, 1–1 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, -10 | Cormac Ryan didn’t play
Wizards 91, Hawks 83
* Henri Veesaar: started, 23:20, 6 points, 1–8 FG, 0–3 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 2 blocks, +16 | Veesaar Summer League totals: 8 games, 8.6 points, 44.6 FG%, 37.0 3P%, 55.6 FT%, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 of a steal, 1.0 block, 2.4 turnovers
* Seth Trimble: started, 29:43, 7 points, 3–9 FG, 1–3 3FG, 6 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block, +3 | Trimble Summer League totals: 5 games, 10.8 points, 42.5 FG%, 26.7 3P%, 90.0 FT%, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.4 of a block, 1.4 turnovers
Spurs 86, Suns 81 | RJ Davis: started, 31:52, 11 points, 4–13 FG, 0–6 3FG, 2–3 FT, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, -4 | Davis Summer League totals: 8 games, 12.1 points, 37.0 FG%, 20.5 3FG%, 59.1 FT%, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steal, 2.4 turnovers
Sunday’s consolation result
Nets 109, Thunder 90 | Drake Powell didn’t play
The Las Vegas schedule reflects each team’s first four Summer League games there, which count toward tournament seeding. The top four teams advance to the semifinals July 18, with the championship game July 19. TV assignments for several later-round games were still to be determined.
Note that an experimental one-free-throw rule is in place. One, two and three free-throw sequences produce a single attempt worth the same total points, except for the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and all overtime periods when standard free‑throw rules apply.
