Spurs come up just short in Summer League opener against Heat

The Miami Heat downed the San Antonio Spurs 88-87 in the first game of the California Classic Friday. R.J. Davis had a chance to win it at the end for the Spurs, but his top-of-the-key trey was off-target.

The Summer Spurs started their three active draft picks (Terris Reed, Jr., Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Maliq Brown), returning two-way player Emanuel Miller, and former Mavs two-way player Miles Kelly. Kelly led the Spurs with 16 points.

Observations

Reed’s 6-11, 265-pound frame was hard to miss on the perimeter. He was an active screener, both for players on the bounce and for cutters looking for passes at the top of the key. And these weren’t touch screens, either; he set solid picks even when he was looking to roll. In a pre-draft interview with No Ceilings, Reed talked about he’d intentionally flirt with the line between legal and illegal screens in college to make refs call the foul. He wasn’t whistled for a screening foul on Friday night.

In that same No Ceilings interview, Reed noted Isaiah Hartenstein’s success on floaters in the Western Conference Finals, but the rookie from UConn never really found his offensive stroke Friday. He scored his first basket about three minutes into the second period and finished with just 10 points (plus seven boards). Near the end of the first half, he had a nice face-up spin move into a baby hook that came up a bit short. Another highlight came early in the fourth quarter when he looked to be stuck down low, but stayed with it to finish with a tough layup in traffic.

Gillespie struggled mightily from the field (3 of 17 shooting; 2 of 8 from beyond the arc), but did have 10 points to go with his 8 assists and just one turnover. He flashed toward the end of the first half with a great challenge on a fast-break layup, followed by a hustle board and assist on the ensuing offensive possession. He also had a nifty floater and assist to Brown for a lob dunk midway through the fourth quarter.

Brown had a solid second half with 10 points and a couple of 3’s. He looked a bit like the Thunder’s Jaylin Williams on the floor given his long hair and build. They’re the same height (6-9), but…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spurs-come-just-short-summer-020617691.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-07-04 02:06:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.