Ball won’t face Fox as Summer League loses marquee matchup
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Los Angeles Lakers’ Lonzo Ball shoots over Los Angeles Clippers’ Brice Johnson.
Lonzo Ball will have to wait for another shot at De’Aaron Fox. Their summer showdown Monday was canceled.
The Lakers decided to rest their prized pick because of a groin injury, sitting him out of their NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas against Sacramento and fellow rookie point guard Fox.
Fox dominated when Kentucky blew by UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 39 points to Ball’s 10. LaVar Ball, Lonzo’s outspoken father, would later say his son was playing with an injured hamstring.
If true, the No. 2 pick already knows there’s no use trying to stay with the faster Fox at less than 100 percent. The Lakers said Ball, who struggled in his first game but responded with a triple-double in his second, had a sore right groin.
Fox, the fifth pick, averaged 17.5 points and four steals through his first two games.
The matchup of California point guards was expected to headline an eight-game day that included a matchup between Golden State and Cleveland, who met in the last three NBA Finals. A look at the games:
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
HAWKS 75, BULLS 55
DeAndre’ Bembry scored 17 points and John Collins had 15 points and 11 rebounds as Atlanta improved to 2-1. Diamond Stone, acquired from the Clippers in a three-team trade with Denver, had 12 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes.
The Bulls shot 22 percent from the field and were 4 for 35 (11.4 percent) in their pathetic performance. Lauri Markkanen, the No. 7 pick from Arizona, missed all 10 3-point attempts and went 1 for 13 overall. Second-year guard Denzel Valentine, who led the Bulls to the Summer League championship last year, was 1 for 12 and missed all eight behind the arc.
Cameron Payne scored 12 points for the Bulls (0-2).
HEAT 91, WIZARDS 87
Matt Williams scored 17 points and made five 3-pointers as the Heat moved to 2-0. Rookie Bam Adebayo had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Trey McKinney-Jones added 15 points and Okaro White scored 14.
Sheldon McClellan had 18 points and Jared Cunningham 16 for the winless Wizards (0-2).
NETS 95, PELICANS 66
Archie Goodwin had 18 points and eight assists as the Nets led by as much as 36 points and cruised to a 2-1 start.
Caris LeVert added 17 points, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Isaiah Whitehead each had 11. All were part of the rotation last season on a Nets team that finished with the NBA’s worst record.
Quinn Cook scored 20 points as New Orleans fell to a Summer League-worst 0-3.
