The Miami HEAT fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 98-95 in double OT Saturday night at Thomas & Mack Center in the Quarterfinals of the Las Vegas Summer League. Gian Clavell led the way for the HEAT with 20 points. With the loss, the HEAT finished Vegas Summer League play at 4-2.
1. Clavell Comes Through in the Clutch
While stats and analytics are extremely important in evaluating a player, one thing it can’t account for is competitive fire.
And Clavell has that in droves.
In a do-or-die matchup on Saturday, Clavell answered the call and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and two overtime periods combined, including this clutch trey to knot things up at 90 with 5.1 seconds left in the fourth.
On the flip side of the ball, the 23-year-old did a very nice job of defending both Wayne Seldon and Wade Baldwin IV.
Although Clavell did his best work late in the game, he was the beneficiary of some superb ball movement in the second quarter.
That’s Miami HEAT basketball in a nutshell.
In addition to his 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, the Colorado State product also had four assists and two steals.
2. Efficient Outing for Auguste
After scoring seven straight points for Miami in the second quarter, including this impressive and-one drive…
…Zach Auguste carried over his sharp play into the fourth. In the period, the 24-year-old went to his patented spin move and finished some tough plays inside. As a result, Auguste finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, four boards and two assists.
3. Williams Lights It Up…As Usual
Matt Williams can really get hot in a hurry. Need more proof? In the third quarter alone, Williams hit four threes — yes, four — en-route to a 12-point period.
While the bulk of his treys were off catch-and-shoot opportunities, this one off the dribble was impressive too.
Williams ended up with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and three rebounds.
4. Pelle’s Block Party
With Bam Adebayo and Okaro White out, Norvel Pelle got some burn and made the most of his extended playing time. On one possession in the second quarter, Pelle hosted his own block party by stuffing both Jarell Martin and Baldwin IV.
He wasn’t done there, though. Pelle came away with two more blocks to give him a game-high four on the evening.
In addition to those blocks, the 6-foot-11 big man scored three points, grabbed four boards and tallied a team-high plus-six rating.