THOMAS & MACK CENTER, LAS VEGAS, NV — A little over two weeks after the 2017 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors (0-0) sent their draft pick, Jordan Bell to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Bell joined a summer league squad consisting of roster players Patrick McCaw, Kevon Looney and Damian Jones. The Warriors were without Chris Boucher (ACL rehab).
Their first game was against the Philadelphia 76ers, who had the overall No. 1 pick, Markelle Fultz.
Q1: McCaw Hot Start
Golden State assistant coach Chris DeMarco made his coaching debut as the Warriors’ summer league head coach and started Xavier Munford and Jabari Brown along with McCaw, Looney, and Jones at the front line. Bell came off the bench.
McCaw got off to a hot start, hitting two threes on catch-and-shoots, but also missing a deep attempt on a dribble-and-pop near a high pick, in the first four minutes of action.
Brown also added a triple, but Fultz was able to push the ball on more than one occasion and score in early offense.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot also kept the heat on the Warriors’ defense with a run-out layup as a McCaw entry pass went into his hands as Jones wasn’t looking, and with 5:59 remaining, Golden State held a 15-10 lead.
The Sixers were going with a full-court press before the break, and the pressure got to Jones, who got an entry pass deflected for a turnover. But he came back and had a two-hand jam fouled, then got an and-one inside.
Bell made his first appearance with 3:24 remaining, and promptly dunked home a beautiful driving feed by McCaw, but the game was now tied at 23-23 with 2:47 to play:
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The game was tied at 27-27 heading into the second stanza.
Q2: McCaw Puts On A Chef Hat
Looney came back in and got a nice layup from a crossover up top, then hit a trey on the catch from the left arc from Tai Webster:
[protected-iframe id=”851e3be81dda59034bb923f0c8bfe795-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fwarriors%2Fstatus%2F883886785708703745″ width=”550″ height=”330″ frameborder=”0″]Dylan Ennis added a three as well, then McCaw went on another mini-burst, hitting right side dribble-and-pop, then a fade from the right baseline on a post-up, and then a step-back swish from beyond the arc on three straight Warriors possessions, helping them take a 42-39 lead with 5:27 to go.
Out of a timeout, McCaw missed a triple at the buzzer, but Jones got to the line on a nice dish by Bell.
Bell got another block to force a jump ball…
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After both teams traded turnovers, Bell got a dunk on a fast break feed by Hamilton, then drew a trip to the line on a nice upfake and drive.
Later, McCaw added another three from the top to give the Warriors a 49-48 lead with 41 seconds left and, after free throws by Fultz, DeMarco called timeout with 14.7 seconds remaining and 10 on the shot clock.
DeMarco entrusted Looney with the inbound, and he attacked from the right wing to the middle to find an open Hamilton, who upfaked and took one dribble in for a good jumper.
The Sixers couldn’t connect at the other end and the Warriors took a 51-48 lead into halftime, with McCaw leading the way with 16 points on 6-for-10 field, 4-for-7 downtown.
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(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @rgbrownie)
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