The Miami HEAT fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 86-72 Friday morning at Amway Center in the Orlando Pro Summer League. Victor Rudd led the way for the HEAT with 22 points.
1. Rudd Gets Hot
In short, Rudd showed his offensive arsenal against the Thunder on Friday, cutting for a dunk early on and converting shots from the perimeter for most of the contest. The University of South Florida product also ran the floor well and competed hard on the defensive end.
With Miami down in the fourth, Rudd did all he could to try and narrow the gap. In fact, the forward scored eight points in the final period. In addition to his game-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, Rudd also led the team with 12 boards and four assists.
2. Walker Makes Most of His Opportunity
David Walker started off the game with a 3-pointer and simply never looked back. Throughout the day, the 6-foot-6 guard out of Northeastern proved to be a solid spot-up shooter who could also put the ball on the floor. After his hot start from deep, Walker showed his versatility by attacking the basket and creating for his teammates off the dribble.
On the defensive end, Walker showed active hands and did a great job of staying with his man. One of his better plays of the contest occurred with 8:20 left in the first quarter when he snatched a pass from Cameron Payne like a free safety. From there, Walker took a dribble and flung it down court for Rudd, who took care of the rest with a one-handed jam in transition.
Watch the Play
In all, Walker had 14 points and three assists on 4-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point land.
3. Obekpa & Boothe Play Big
While their numbers might not jump off the page, Chris Obekpa and Nathan Boothe made some nice plays on Friday.
Obekpa’s greatest contribution came on a possession midway through the fourth quarter. To start the sequence with 5:43 to play, Obekpa elevated high to swat Dakari Johnson, and then did the same to Daniel Hamilton.
Along with those two blocks, the UNLV product totaled five points and five rebounds (two offensive).
Boothe, meanwhile, started to get going offensively in the third quarter with a nice drive and a jumper. He also played pretty good defense inside against Oklahoma City. In all, the 6-foot-9 big out of Toldeo had four points, two boards and a block.
Other Takeaways:
-Juwan Howard Jr. provided a spark in the beginning of the second quarter, scoring five straight points for the HEAT. During the run, he had this impressive and-one finish.
The guard finished with 10 points, two boards, two assists and two steals.
Notes:
-Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, Briante Weber and Rodney McGruder sat out.
-With the loss, the HEAT placed fourth at the Orlando Pro Summer League.
-Miami will now move on to Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where it will play the Dallas Mavericks at 10:00 PM EST on Saturday night.
