The Memphis Grizzlies’ first trip through the Las Vegas NBA Summer League hit its first snag on July 13, when Dallas handed them a 96-88 loss. Memphis had spent most of the night chasing, and even when the game tightened late in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks found another gear and pulled away.
The difference came from Spanish point guard Sergio de Larrea, who put together a 16-point, 12-assist night and kept Dallas in control with a performance that drew comparisons to Ricky Rubio. Memphis got its own standout effort from No. 3 overall pick Cam Boozer, who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, but the Grizzlies couldn’t generate enough stops when it mattered most.
Boozer’s shot selection became a talking point early. He attacked throughout the game, but his first five 3-point tries missed the mark, which set up a tense exchange with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
When McMenamin asked, "Do you feel the NBA line is an adjustment you're going to go through your rookie year?" Boozer replied, "No," and added, "I don't."
McMenamin followed with, "Is that something you were able to work on at Duke, and prepping for the draft?" Boozer answered, "Yeah.
I mean, I shot 40% at Duke," before finishing, "I don't think it's an adjustment." He then knocked down his next two 3-point attempts.
There were other notable performances on both sides. Cedric Coward, who has been one of the summer league’s better players and earned NBA All-Rookie honors last season, still managed 17 points and 12 rebounds, but this wasn’t one of his cleaner outings. He shot 7-for-23 and committed a game-high five turnovers.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper made his presence felt for Dallas. He scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and shot 7 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 9 from deep. His energy helped the Mavericks respond after Memphis had cut into a double-digit first-half deficit.
The Grizzlies are still waiting on several pieces to make their summer league debuts. Walter Clayton Jr. and Karim Lopez have both missed the team’s first five games because of injuries.
Clayton appeared in last year’s summer league with the Utah Jazz, while Lopez, the No. 21 pick in this year’s draft, has been sidelined by a mild left hamstring strain from the pre-draft process. Richie Saunders, Memphis’ other draft pick from BYU, will not play in summer league as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in February.
With Coward and Boozer both logging heavy minutes against Dallas, Memphis could decide to give them a night off in the back-to-back. The Grizzlies face the Golden State Warriors on July 14 at 6 p.m.
CT on ESPN, then take on the Atlanta Hawks on July 16 at 7 p.m. CT on Amazon Prime.
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Johnson opened his Summer League with 27 points and then added 10 against the Lakers, giving Dallas a rookie to hang its optimism on even as the team has looked shaky in the early going. Memphis, meanwhile, is still sorting through how it wants to handle its Summer League rotation, so the most interesting part of this matchup may be less about the final score and more about which young pieces actually take the floor. [Read more 🡒]