Friday play ends with a loud dunk, Jackson tribute

Former North Carolina star Ty Lawson had 26 points and five assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 111-93 win over Portland in the final game of today’s session at Cox Pavilion. Sonny Weems added 24 points for Denver, while Ronald Dupree and Coby Karl added 16 each. Jerryd Bayless had 19 points, five rebounds and four assists for Portland. He did commit six turnovers, however.

In the other gym, Phoenix defeated the D-League Select team 95-89 in the final game of the night at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Suns outscored the collection of D-League players 33-22 in the fourth quarter to earn the comeback victory. Jiri Hubalek paced Phoenix with 20 points. Stanford alum Robin Lopez had 10 points, but also fouled out after committing 10 fouls. Former Massachusetts star Gary Forbes had a game-high 26 points for the D-League team.

WEEMS TURNS UP THE VOLUME

Sonny Weems scored nine of his 24 points in the third quarter for the Nuggets. The two loudest came on a thunderous dunk. The former Arkansas Razorback screamed as he rattled the rim. The play also brought the loudest roar of the day from the crowd. Weems added a slam-dunk finish of an ally-oop pass from Coby Karl late in the game.

FACE IN THE CROWD

Kim Couture was in attendance for the evening’s final game at Cox Pavilion. The professional mixed martial artist is in the midst of a divorce from former UFC champion Randy Couture. Ron Artest has not been spotted in the building, but if any of the players currently on the floor decide to go up in the crowd and fight some fans, they may want to pick a different area.

JUST AN OBSERVATION

At halftime of the late game at Cox Pavilion, a children’s dance group performed a routine to a compilation of Michael Jackson songs. That is all that will be said on the matter.

UP NEXT

The games are finished for tonight. There are two days left in the Summer League. A full slate of six games is on tap for Saturday, beginning with a 1 p.m. tipoff for Dallas and Oklahoma City.