By Joel Bartilotta
RotoWire
The D-League Select squad claimed an 88-76 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday in the consolation round of the Las Vegas Summer League.
The Pelicans owned a 10-point lead at halftime, but the D-League Select team stormed back in the third quarter. They went on a 16-0 run that spanned for about five minutes in the second half to key the victory, with most of their success coming on the open floor. The D-League Select team outscored New Orleans 25-8 in fast-break points, while hot free-throw shooting was a decisive factor as well. D-League Select shot 81 percent from the charity stripe compared to the Pelicans’ 46.7 percent mark.
Non-roster player Jameel McKay was the star for the Pelicans, as he scored 16 points off the bench in the loss. No. 3 overall pick Buddy Hield struggled to get going from the field once again, tallying 11 points and five assists on 5-for-18 shooting. The only other starter in double figures was rookie Cheick Diallo, who recorded double-double (12 points, 10 boards).
D-League Select had a volatile rotation coming into this game, but they allowed six players to play at least 20 minutes in their runaway win. Quinn Cook was the star of the game, as he tallied 19 points, six assists and four rebounds. Joel Wright was second on the team in scoring, totaling 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Jabril Trawick provided a nice spark off the bench with 12 points.
The Pelicans finish their summer league campaign 1-4, while the D-League Select team improves to 3-2.
