Monte Morris’ goal this summer was to state his case, through solid on-court play, that he should be the Nuggets reserve point guard next season.
He’s doing just that.
The Nuggets won their third-straight summer league game, 90-83, on Monday night at Cox Pavilion over Milwaukee, and Morris had his hands all over the victory with 20 points, eight assists, six rebounds and a steal. He knocked down 8-of-15 shots from the field.
Overall, Morris has been stellar. In three games he’s averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds. He’s shooting 47.8 percent from the field and has a 6-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. On Monday, Morris displayed a little bit of everything from getting to the rim to knocking down midrange attempts to nailing a 3-pointer as well.
But more than anything, he’s running the Nuggets well. Their 90 points against Milwaukee is their highest point total of the tournament so far, and they’ve scored more points in each game out. Morris’s ability to keep the pace high is a significant contributing factor to that.
Against the Bucks, the Nuggets took the lead for good early in the third quarter and never trailed again. DeVaughn Akoon Purcell had another good scoring night with 18 points, including three 3-pointers. He added three steals. Vlatko Cancar had 13 points, powered by three 3-pointers. And Tyler Lydon nailed three from beyond the arc as well, finishing with 10 points.
But the night, and so far the tournament from a Nuggets’ perspective, belonged to Morris.
The Nuggets get Tuesday off before starting tournament play on Wednesday.
Christopher Dempsey: christopher.dempsey@altitude.tv and @chrisadempsey on Twitter.