By John Denton July 2, 2016
ORLANDO – Arinze Onuaku scored 16 points and Kevin Murphy poured in 13 and delivered some strong defense on Aaron Harrison in Orlando Magic White’s 79-74 defeat of Charlotte in Day 1 action of the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League.
Onuaku, a three-time all-star in the NBA Development League and a two-time all-league player, used his massive 6-foot-9, 275–pound frame to dominate inside. He made six of nine shots for Magic White (1-0), which shot 48.3 percent from the floor. Onuaku also added eight rebounds in 24 minutes.
“We came together only a few days ago, but we’ve been working hard,” said Onuaku, a former standout at Syracuse who has had brief NBA stints with the Timberwolves and Cavaliers. “One thing about our team is that we don’t have any first-round picks. But our guys are locked in and our team is hungry.”
Justin Dentmon added 10 points, three steals and two assists for Magic White. Treveon Graham scored 12 points and shared the defensive load with Murphy on Harrison, who was limited to two of 13 shooting for Charlotte (0-1).
“We had great chemistry – and it really helps that I have two veteran guys in Arinze and Justin Dentmon – and my personality kind of jives with them and they like me,” said Magic White coach Bill Peterson, the head coach of Orlando’s D-League squad, the Erie BayHawks. “We played really hungry and played really hard. We really defended the best player on their team with Aaron Harrison going two-for-13. We were locked in.”
Orlando won each of the first three quarters and held on in the fourth despite getting outscored 28-17. Charlotte got 19 points and two 3-pointers from DeShaun Thomas, while Brandon Paul chipped in 16. Harrison scored 12 after missing 11 of his 13 shot attempts and four of his five 3-point tries. The Hornets made just 37.7 percent of their shots and connected on only five of 22 3-point tries.
Onuaku, 28, played professionally in the Philippines and Israel the past two seasons. He was a second-team all D-League pick in 2015 and a third-team All-D-League honoree in 2014. He is hoping to use this week to show the Magic that he deserves a training camp invite to make the regular-season roster.
“When they called me in, I know what this was all about,” said Onuaku, who is familiar with head coach Bill Peterson from their D-League days. “It’s good that I’ve got a coach who is familiar with me. He knows my game and he told me that we’re going to play through me. We’re trying to make each other look good and play together. I’m happy to be here.”
