NBA Summer League Championship — LIVE BLOG
The final day of the 2016 NBA Summer League will feature the championship game in the Thomas & Mack Center.
Minnesota, the last seed of the 24-team tournament, will take on No. 2 Chicago at 6 p.m. in a matchup of Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau’s current and former teams.
We’re live-blogging from the arena.
Check out the blog below.
7:59 p.m.
Just minutes after hitting the game-tying three in regulation, Chicago’s Denzel Valentine came in the clutch once again.
Out of a timeout, Valentine made the winning shot over Minnesota’s Coty Clarke as time expired to lift the Bulls to an 84-82 win over the Timberwolves in the Las Vegas Summer League championship.
Jerian Grant had scored all five of Chicago’s points in overtime before Valentine’s bucket. Grant was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Grant finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 34:12 minutes. Bobby Portis had 26 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, and Valentine finished with five points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Bulls.
Tyus Jones led Minnesota with 27 points, and teammate Adreian Payne scored 22.
7:48 p.m.
Chicago’s Denzel Valentine, the Bulls’ first-round draft pick this year, hit a game-tying three with 0.2 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
7:44 p.m.
Minnesota’s Tyus Jones, who was named the Summer League Most Valuable Player on Sunday, hit a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds to go to give the Timberwolves a 77-74 lead.
7:38 p.m.
The Timberwolves are up 72-70 over Chicago with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter.
7:15 p.m.
Chicago leads Minnesota 59-58 at the end of the third quarter. Bobby Portis had 11 of his 23 points in the quarter.
Adreian Payne and Tyus Jones each have 18 points for Minnesota.
6:55 p.m.
Adreian Payne scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second quarter as the Timberwolves lead the Bulls 42-32 at halftime in the Summer League championship.
Teammate Tyus Jones has added 12 points.
Bobby Portis leads Chicago with 12 points, and Jerian Grant has scored 10.
6:30 p.m.
Second-year Miami Heat guard Justise Winslow is here to watch his former college teammate play in the championship game of the Las Vegas Summer League.
Winslow was Minnesota guard Tyus Jones’ teammate at Duke, where the pair helped the Blue Devils win the 2015 NCAA championship.
Phoenix’s Tyler Ulis also walked in, as did Minnesota’s head coach, Tom Thibodeau.
Minnesota leads Chicago, 26-18 with 7:19 left in the second quarter. The Timberwolves are on a 13-0 run.
6:25 p.m.
The Chicago Bulls lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 18-13 after the first quarter of the Summer League championship at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Chicago’s Bobby Portis leads all scorers with eight points.
Minnesota’s Tyus Jones has scored seven.
6:20 p.m.
Minnesota’s Tyus Jones received his Summer League Most Valuable Player award prior to tipoff in the Timberwolves-Bulls championship game.
Also, Los Angeles’ Brandon Ingram, the second overall pick in this year’s draft, just walked in the Thomas & Mack Center to catch the finale.
6:16 p.m.
Reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns and Minnesota teammate Zach LaVine are sitting underneath the basket at the NBA Summer League Championship game.
Timberwolves GM Scott Layden is sitting close two his two young players as well.
Chicago leads Minnesota 14-6 late in the first quarter.
5:45 p.m.
Former UNLV guard Michael Umeh had a successful homecoming, playing for Nigeria’s national team and scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds in Nigeria’s 96-92 exhibition win over Argentina at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Umeh, who played for the Rebels from 2003 to 2007, said it felt good to be back.
“It was like I never left,” Umeh, 31, said. “I didn’t think anyone remembered me from when I played here.”
Umeh played professionally last season in Israel for Ironi Nahariya and he said it was a great experience.
“The fans are great and it’s a really beautiful country,” he said. “I enjoyed it.”
The Nigerians, who were the FIBA Africa Zone champions, still have to make some final cuts down to 12 from the current 16-man roster. Umeh, who is from Houston, hopes to still be on the roster when Nigeria faces Team USA on Aug. 1 at the Toyota Center.
“It’s another homecoming,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been playing well and this is a really good team. We’ve got a lot of size and talent and I’m looking forward to going to Rio (de Janeiro) and experiencing the Olympics.”
5:30 p.m.
The Thomas & Mack Center already is filling up 30 minutes before tip, as several fans showed up early to catch the Argentina-Nigeria exhibition game.
Nigeria, behind Ike Diogu’s 18 points and seven rebounds, defeated the Argentines, 96-92.
Luis Scola had 15 points and seven boards for Argentina, which played without San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili.
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