Marquette At The Las Vegas NBA Summer League: July 15, 2018

Detroit Pistons 72, Chicago Bulls 66 — The Pistons weren’t shaken by the Bulls running out to a 12 point lead late in the first quarter on Saturday. They made a big comeback in the second period, outscoring Chicago 27-11 to take a lead into halftime and build that lead as high as 18 in the third quarter before picking up the win to continue their somewhat surprising run to the quarterfinals. Detroit came into tournament play as the #25 seed in the Summer League bracket, but after wins against #8 and #24, they’re through to the quarterfinals against the top seeded Los Angeles Lakers.

Henry Ellenson had one of his best games of Summer League, shooting 7-for-15 from the field while limiting himself to just four long range attempts on his way to a team high 21 points. He went 4-for-9 in the second half, scoring 14 of his points after the break as the Pistons made their move to control the contest. The Wisconsin native also had five rebounds and three assists to provide the Pistons with an all-around game. Chicago was led by 24 points from Antonio Blakeney, but it took him 22 shots to get there. Pop yourself over to NBA.com for a full game highlight package and a 2 minute interview with Ellenson.

Toronto Raptors 87, Charlotte Hornets 84 — If Detroit’s run to the quarterfinals has been a bit of a surprise, then Toronto’s run has been an absolute shock. The Raptors were seeded 29th — second to last — at the start of the Summer League tournament, and after knocking off #4 Denver in the first round, they downed the #13 seeded Hornets on Saturday to continue to advance.

It was a back and forth game all the way, featuring 12 ties, 11 lead changes, and neither team led by more than seven points, and that was the Hornets early in the first quarter. Rawle Alkins was the dominant force in the game, scoring 25 points for Toronto on 10-of-16 shooting and grabbing up 11 rebounds as well. Four other Raptors scored at least 10 points, which was a balance that the Hornets just could not match. Dwayne Bacon had 28 points on 27 shots for Charlotte, and Miles Bridges had a statistically impressive 18 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, but he was just 5-for-20 from the field and 1-for-8 from behind the arc. Our man Andrew Rowsey, as could be expected with how things have gone so far and with this one being a close game, remained on the bench for the entirety.

Today’s Schedule (All times Central)

3pm: Detroit vs Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN
5pm: Toronto vs Cleveland, ESPN2