Wake Forest’s John Collins turned in the performance of the day at the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League tournament on Saturday with 30 points for the Atlanta Hawks in a 91-98 loss to the New York Knicks.
But the game that generated the most interest was the one between the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns, featuring the first two players picked in this year’s draft going head-to-head against one another.
As was the case in Brooklyn last month, when the Suns took him No. 1 overall, Arizona’s Deandre Ayton came out slightly ahead of Duke’s Marvin Bagley III by hitting for 21 points and 12 rebounds in Phoenix’s 71-63 victory.
But Bagley also posted a strong effort, bouncing back from two subpar games to finish out the Sacramento Summer League earlier in the week with 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of action.
Bagley’s teammate with the Kings, fellow Blue Devils one-and-done big man Harry Giles, had 17 points , six rebounds and five steals in the losing effort while UNC alumnus Justin Jackson finished with eight points, four rebounds and four steals for the Sacramento.
Those numbers paled by comparison to those put up by Collins earlier in the day.
The second-year pro, who averaged a respectable 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds as a rookie for the Hawks last season, made 12 of his 22 field goal attempts (4 of 7 from 3-point range) while scoring a third of his team’s points in the game. He also pulled down eight rebounds.
Elsewhere around the Vegas Summer League, 16 was a popular number for players with North Carolina ties.
No fewer than five scored 16 points in their games Saturday, a group that includes Duke’s Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Grayson Allen, along with UNC’s Tony Bradley and Theo Pinson.
Trent, Allen and Bradley all had theirs in the same game, in which Trent led the Portland Trailblazers to a 93-78 win against the Utah Jazz. Trent went 3 for 7 from the floor with a 3-pointer while hitting all nine of his free throws, to go along with three rebounds. Bradley did his damage by making six of his seven field goal attempts while Allen had a typically well-rounded night with six rebounds five assists and three steals.
Carter supplemented his 16 points with nine rebounds five blocked shots and two steals for the Chicago Bulls in an 86-81 win against Cleveland. Pinson, meanwhile, strengthened his bid to make the Brooklyn Nets’ roster by going 5 of 8 from the floor (3 of 5 on 3-pointers), making all three of his free throws and picking up five rebounds in Brooklyn’s 90-76 loss to Oklahoma City.
Other players of note Saturday include UNC’s Kennedy Meeks, who had five points and eight rebounds for the Denver Nuggets in their win against Boston, Campbell’s Eric Griffin, who had five points and five rebounds in just eight minutes for the Detroit Pistons in a loss to Memphis, and Wake Forest’s Bryant Crawford, who made a 3-pointer while adding three rebounds and a steal to the Nets’ loss to Oklahoma City. UNC’s Joel Berry has yet to appear in a game for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Play continues today with games throughout the day, all of which will be televised on either an ESPN network or NBATV.
Here are the stats for all state players participating in the Vegas Summer League tourney, which runs through July 17:
John Collins, Wake Forest (Hawks): 1 game, 30.0 ppg, 12-22 FG, 4-7 3PT, 2-6 FT, 8.0 rpg
Trevon Duval, Duke (Rockets): 1 G, 20.0 ppg, 7-10 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-8 FT, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Harry Giles, Duke (Kings): 1 G, 17.0 ppg, 8-16 FG, 1-2 3PT, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 spg
Grayson Allen, Duke (Jazz): 1 G, 16.0 ppg, 6-17 FG, 2-9 3PT, 2-2 FT, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 spg
Tony Bradley, UNC (Jazz): 1 G, 16.0 ppg, 6-7 FG, 4-4 FT, 6.0 rpg
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke (Bulls): 1 G, 16.0 ppg, 6-12 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT, 9.0 rpg, 5.0 bpg
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (Kings): 1 G, 15.0 ppg, 5-13 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-7 FT, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Dennis Smith Jr., NC State (Mavs): 1 G, 14.0 ppg, 5-10 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-2, 3.0 rpg, 5.0 apg
Frank Jackson, Duke (Pelicans): 1 G, 13.0 ppg, 4-7 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-5 FT, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Theo Pinson, UNC (Nets) 2 G, 12.5 ppg, 7-17 FG, 4-11 3PT, 7-7 FT, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Amile Jefferson, Duke (T-wolves): 1 G, 12.0 ppg, 6-10 FG, 0-4 FT, 14.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Jerome Robinson, Raleigh/BC (Clippers): 1 G, 12.0 ppg, 5-10 FG, 2-7 3PT, 1.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Devonte Graham, Raleigh/Kansas (Hornets): 1 G, 10.0 ppg, 4-10 FG, 0-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, 4.0 rpg, 5.0 apg
Codi Miller-McIntyre, Wake (Raptors): 1 G, 9.0 ppg, 4-9 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-2 FT, 3.0 rpg, 5.0 apg
Justin Jackson, UNC (Kings): 1 G, 8.0 ppg, 3-11 FG, 0-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, 5.0 rpg, 4.0 spg
J.P. Tokoto, UNC (Warriors): 1 G, 6.0 ppg, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-4 FT, 1.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Kennedy Meeks, UNC (Nuggets): 2 G, 4.5 ppg, 4-13 FG, 1.1 FT, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Eric Griffin, Campbell (Pistons): 2 G, 2.5 ppg, 1-2 FG, 3.0 rpg
Bryant Crawford, Wake (Nets): 2 G, 1.5 ppg, 1-7 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Doral Moore, Wake (Wizards): 1 G, 0.0 ppg, 0-0 FG, 1.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Rodney Purvis, Raleigh/UConn (Magic): 1 G, 0.0 ppg, 0-7 FG, 0-2 3PT, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
