NBA Day 5: Randolph ties summer league scoring mark

By Ryan Greene, Rob Miech

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 | 11:31 p.m.

Golden State forward Anthony Randolph saw his streak of summer league double-doubles come to an end at 3 on Tuesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.

So what? In exchange, the second-year Warrior tied an NBA summer league single-game scoring record, notching 42 points in a 95-83 victory over Chicago, improving Golden State to 3-1 this week.

If he plays in Golden State's fifth game of the summer league, at this point, he's pretty much a lock for MVP honors at this year's event. Or at the very least a heavy early favorite.

The lanky 7-foot LSU product looks light years better than he did a year ago in Vegas, and right now is carrying averages of 26.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

The game was littered with solid performances. Alongside Randolph, Stephen Curry had 10 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds as he continues to morph into a full-time point guard.

For the Bulls, it was a pleasant showing by their pair of first round picks -- Southern Cal forward Taj Gibson and Wake Forest forward James Johnson.

Gibson overcame a slow start to finish with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Johnson, who doubles as an amateur kickboxer and MMA fighter, displayed a wide array of abilities en route to 21 points and 7 boards. At 6-foot-8, Johnson can do it all on the offensive end, and should be fun to watch the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, over at the Thomas & Mack Center, Oklahoma City nearly redeemed itself following a 29-point loss to Memphis in its first game of the week, but instead blew a fourth quarter lead to the Lakers, falling 74-68.

Ben McCauley's late heroics and Adam Morrison's 17 points for the Lakers overshadowed a 23-point performance from Thunder rookie guard James Harden -- the third overall pick in the draft last month.

Harden finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Griffin follows up strong debut in fine form

Blake Griffin, the top overall pick in last month's draft, finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers improved to 2-0 in summer league play.

However, he wasn't alone in carrying the load.

Budding second-year center DeAndre Jordan had 21 points and 12 boards, while Eric Gordon led the Clips with 22 points in a slim 88-86 victory over New Orleans.

New Orleans second-round pick Marcus Thornton was impressive again, scoring 19 points, while first-rounder Darren Collison led all scorers with 23.

San Antonio remains unbeaten

Denver, the final team to make its summer league debut, dropped a two-point decision to San Antonio, who rested second-round pick DaJuan Blair.

Spurs big man Ian Mahinmi became the first player in this year's summer league to foul out, committing all 10 of his allotted infractions. But first, he put in 12 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Denver's Coby Karl -- the son of Nuggets coach George Karl -- led all scorers with 19 points.

Malik Hairston had 17 for San Antonio, while George Hill added 16 and UNLV grad Romel Beck chipped in 14 off the bench.

Wink Adams earns a 'DNP' in Knicks summer league opener

5:26

Wink Adams' first game in a New York Knicks summer league uniform came and went, and the former UNLV guard never saw the floor.

Adams earned a 'DNP' in the Knicks' 90-86 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies to start the day's action in the Cox Pavilion.

Morris Almond, Toney Douglas and Joe Crawford saw much of the action in the backcourt for the Knicks, with Almond scoring a team-high 17 points.

Adams said after the game that playing overseas will probably be his best option once the summer league has come and gone. He said his agent has had serious discussions with clubs in both Germany, Australia and Turkey regarding his potential services.

Adams added that he's already had a passport for 2 years, so that's of no concern.

Darrell Arthur scored a game-high 22 points for the Grizzlies, while veteran guard Marcus Williams scored 16, including several in the clutch to help Memphis overcome a late 8-point deficit.

In the day's first game at the Thomas & Mack Center, 36 points from Nick Young helped the Washington Wizards stave off a second-half Cleveland surge in a 96-93 victory. Andre Blatche scored 21 for Washington, while Tarence Kinsey led the Cavs with 22.

Several Rebels both current and former on hand to watch Wink

3:22 p.m.

Late in the first quarter, Wink Adams still has yet to get off the bench for the New York Knicks in their NBA summer league opener, but the sixth all-time leading scorer in UNLV history has plenty of supporters in the building.

First through the door was a trio of current Rebels, including sophomore forward Brice Massamba, sophomore guard Oscar Bellfield and senior forward Darris Santee.

Graduated senior Joe Darger was soon to follow.

Seated on the other side of the gym is UNLV coach Lon Kruger, son Kevin Kruger and former Rebel Curtis Terry.

Also deserving a nod are Andy Grossman and Bryan Haines from the UNLV media relations staff. They were seated right down the aisle from Rebels senior walk-on Steve 'Chopper' Jones.

Chances are Adams might get a few minutes tossed his way at some point today, as the Knicks have already used 9 players in just over 8 minutes.

Wink is warming up with Knicks

2:42 p.m.

And on the fifth day, former UNLV guard Wink Adams is set to make his professional debut, sort of, with the New York Knicks.

Don’t tell Adams, or Mama Wink – what everyone calls his mother back in Houston – that this is just the Summer League and it’s insignificant.

Adams is wearing black shoes and black NBA socks, the padded (and expensive) kind that his mother has been supplying with him in recent years. He’s wearing a long gray T-shirt over his orange Knicks uniform.

He’s showing accuracy from distance. Then again, he’s familiar with the Cox Pavilion.

Keep checking here for all the latest on his game against Memphis at 3 p.m. Golden State-Chicago (5 p.m.) and Denver-San Antonio (7 p.m.) are also on the Cox docket.

At the Thomas & Mack Center, Washington plays Cleveland at 3:30, the Lakers go up against Oklahoma City at 5:30 and the Clippers, and star rookie Blake Griffin, play New Orleans at 7:30.

Griffin, although he’s only played a game, leads all Summer Leaguers with 27 points a game. Robin Lopez made a splash here, yesterday, and is first with 16 boards a game and fourth at 24 points.

We’re also keeping tabs on Nik Caner-Medley, the journeyman for the Clippers who is fourth at 11 rebounds a game. We have been watching Caner-Medley play summertime hoops in Las Vegas for years.

Marcus Williams of Memphis is tops with 17 assists a game, but Brandon Jennings of Milwaukee is third at 8.3. He came to Vegas with a vengeance, to help the Bucks win all five of their games.

They’re 3-0, and after Jennings played well late Monday it looked like he had just helped the Bucks win a playoff series.