It took a few extra days, but we finally got our Mikel Brown Jr. vs Darius Acuff summer showdown. The Nets as a unit, however, delivered the box office production.
The Nets leapt out to a 22-6 advantage to the begin the game, forcing eight Sacramento turnovers in the game’s first six minutes. Joshua Jefferson, who struggled in his first appearance as a Net over the weekend, got in on the action right after coming in off the bench.
Brown Jr. didn’t put down any of the points to build that run, but facilitated on a few. Despite having no points to match Acuff’s six in the first, he did come up with two assists.
His backcourt mate had him covered, however. Egor Dëmin led all everyone with 16 first period points shooting 3-3 from the field and 4-4 from the line. It was a near perfect quarter for the sophomore who’s starting to look a bit too good to be out there. He also had three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and zero turnovers in the first.
Brown Jr. picked it up a bit in the second. Acuff picked his pocket on the period’s first quarter, though Brown Jr. got back in time to block his subsequent shot in transition. MBJ walked the ball down the court right after, shook Acuff with a crossover, and dropped in a buttery midrange jumper. He finished with five points and two more assists in the period.
Drake Powell experienced a far larger and more cathartic redemptive arc. After beginning the summer 1-28 from the field between the California Classic and Vegas, he started the game 4-5 from three and a +11 at halftime.
Brooklyn eventually waltzed its way to a 56-34 lead at halftime. It would have been even uglier than that if not for Emanuel Sharp. The 45th overall pick out of Houston also went 4-5 from deep in the first half to lead his team with 14 points. Nobody else on Sacramento had more than eight.
Dëmin, who put up a 20-piece last time out vs New York, had the same amount today by halftime while shooting 5-9 from the field. He continued to have Brown Jr.’s all the way there…
The dunking didn’t stop there, nor did the deposing of the Kings. The Nets continued to force Sacramento turnovers that led to easy points going the other way. They ended up earning 41 points off 28 Sacramento giveaways by the end of it. Johnson, Dëmin, Brown Jr., and Wolf collaborated on what has to be the play of the summer so far for the team…
Brooklyn went on a 13-0 run in the heart of the third frame to open up a 30+ point lead, and while that was enough to excuse Dëmin for all the one random possession in the fourth, Brown Jr., Powell, and a few others played on. The former got a few points back on Acuff before sitting a few sequences later. MBJ finished with 16/5/2, and four turnovers while shooting 6-11 from the field and 2-5 from deep. Acuff ended with 26 points, five assists, and five turnovers while shooting 9-18 from the field and 2-6 from deep.
The Nets did get a bit too rowdy in the that third period, picking up three technical fouls between the bench, Dëmin, and Powell, who got caught hanging on the rim for a tad too long after finishing off an alley-oop. Normally, I’d say you don’t love to see that. But hey, its summer. And again, you saw the Powell numbers before this one. He finished with 18 points, two steals, and a block after shooting 6-10 from the field and 4-7 from deep.
For the most part, the bench plus Johnson and Wolf took us the rest of the way. Sacramento never put any pressure on the lead as Ben Saraf’s methodical game and Johnson’s dominance on the glass made it difficult to the Kings to string together any points. Saraf bounced back with 11 points, five assists, four steals, and zero turnovers on 3-4 shooting in 20 minutes players. Johnson, a game high +31, nabbed 13 points and nine rebounds, three assists, and a steal after shooting 5-7 from the field.
The Nets nabbed their second win in Las Vegas. The were five points shy of tying the league record for the most points scored in a Summer League game.
Final: Brooklyn Nets 115, Sacramento Kings 83
Next Up
Brooklyn will take a day off before playing in its final “regular season” Summer League game on Thursday afternoon vs the Houston Rockets. That’ll tip off at 4:30 p.m. EST. Depending on how the standings shake out, they’ll either move onto a four-team playoff or play one consolation game after that either on July 17, July 18 or July 19th.
