Portland Trail Blazers close out NBA Summer League with win over Houston Rockets

Lottery headliners Donovan Clingan and Reed Sheppard sat out the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, respectively, in the NBA Summer League finale between the two teams on Sunday night. Their absences turned the game into a glorified Rat Ball session, viewable only by the most dedicated fans and persistent bettors.

The Blazers took control of the struggling affair in the second quarter, then held off a late Houston comeback to win 105-95 and finish 3-2 in Las Vegas.

With Clingan in street clothes, the Blazers’ focus has been on sophomore forwards Kris Murray and Rayan Rupert, who are still in uniform. Both players finished their Summer League campaigns with respectable, multifaceted numbers, while point guard Kennedy Chandler provided a huge boost with a team-best 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Murray still struggled with his shooting, especially in the first half, but he still managed to finish with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks and just one turnover while shooting 5-13 from the field and 3-9 from three-point range. Rupert showed more versatility on offense as a creator and a power forward, parlaying those skills into 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block on 6-12 from the field and 2-5 from three-point range.

Murray looked competent from the court, as a second-year player and former first-round pick should be in Summer League. He rebounded well, played well defensively with the ball and on the help side, made timely cuts, hit free throws and made decent passes when he attacked. But his inconsistent three-point shooting continued to take its toll, especially since three-pointers are the main weapon he tries to provide on offense. After shooting a tough 1-5 from three-point range in the first half, Murray salvaged his shooting percentage with back-to-back three-pointers to start the second half.

In a second-half interview, Murray admitted he struggled offensively during Summer League, but also noted he showed solid defensive skills.

Rupert seemed to attack the paint much more aggressively than Murray, using his size to get to the rack or place floaters over defenders. While his grip wasn’t the tightest and the ball dropped a few times (Rupert had three TOs), he also showed impressive flashes of getting to his spots and finishing with good touch. In addition to Rupert’s production, his three-point shot was efficient and he showed more comfort as a facilitator, especially in the second quarter.

As for the flow of play, the game started off at a frantic pace that didn’t allow either team to score many points. Instead, it resulted in a lot of missed breaks on the fast break and a few turnovers. After the Rockets ended the first quarter with a 27-20 lead, the Blazers got into a much healthier rhythm and took control by outscoring the Rockets 28-13 in the second half.

This big second quarter was fueled by Chandler and Rupert. Chandler used his quick speed to consistently break down the Rockets’ defense for 10 points in the second quarter alone. The small guard did all of his damage on the night by only attempting (and missing) one three-pointer, and his performance likely swung the game. The big second quarter gave the Blazers a 48-40 halftime lead. Portland’s lead grew to 15 points in the second half, before Houston threatened to come back late in the game, getting as close as three points in the final minutes. The Blazers held on to the win thanks to some timely baskets and stops.

The loss drops Houston to 2-3 on the Summer League season.

As a final note, Blazers forward Yongxi “Jacky” Cui of China (6’11”), who has generated some buzz among Portland fans for his decent production in limited minutes during Summer League, did not play against Houston. As of this writing, I’m not sure why Cui didn’t play.

The Blazers’ Summer League season is over, but there’s still one game left to play in Las Vegas. The Memphis Grizzlies will face the Miami Heat in Monday’s championship game. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PDT on ESPN.