By Dan Savage
July 3, 2016
ORLANDO – Oklahoma City’s experienced trio is proving to be quite formidable force in the 2016 Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League.
Cameron Payne, Mitch McGary and Dakari Johnson all made significant impacts as the Thunder used a late 14-2 run to pull past the Clippers on their way to an 81-72 victory on Sunday.
Payne once again led the Thunder in scoring, posting a game-high 25 points. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft was able to overcome a 5-for-16 shooting performance by remaining aggressive, attacking the rack and nailing all 14 of his attempts from the charity stripe.
“He does a good job pacing himself when the pick-and-roll comes, and he’s always looking for us, so you always have to have your hands up,” Johnson said. “He makes the game easier.”
McGary and Johnson controlled the paint for Oklahoma City as the frontcourt duo combined for 33 points and 21 boards.
“We were just locked in as a team and just played the way they want us to play,” Johnson explained.
After a rough opening outing for Brice Johnson, the former North Carolina standout bounced back in a big way for Los Angeles in the defeat.
The No. 25 overall selection in this year’s draft, showed flashes of brilliance knocking down 11 of his 18 attempts from the field on his way to 23 points.
“I felt a lot better today than I did yesterday,” he said. “I got myself adjusted to it today.”
Royce O’Neale added 14 points, while Andrew Andrews added 12.
Oklahoma City (2-0) looks to remain undefeated when it faces the Charlotte Hornets at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, while Los Angeles (0-2) has the day off before returning to action on Tuesday when it takes on the New York Knicks at 3 p.m. ET.
