Setting a screen for Bennett Stirtz, Aday Mara rolled to the rim. The two first-round picks connected. The seven-footer capped off the textbook pick-and-roll play as he barely needed to jump off the hardwood to get an easy layup. Even with a lopsided scoreboard, those two made this a fun watch.
The Oklahoma City Thunder remain winless in the July extravaganza. They fell in a 104-79 Summer League loss to the Golden State Warriors. That said, Mara and Stirtz looked much more comfortable. That's all you can ask for at this event.
In a matchup between two former Michigan teammates, Mara one-upped Yaxel Lendeborg — who's been a Summer League darling. The former blocked the latter on a second-chance look. Even with the Thunder falling behind early, his play left you encouraged. They were in a 27-16 deficit after the first quarter.
The second frame probably saw Mara's best stretch in Summer League. He backed down Lachlan Olbrich in the post. A couple of power-dribbles later, he went up for the one-handed jam. Later on, he went at Graham Ike in the post. This time, on a turnaround jumper he was fouled on. The Thunder scored 22 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 53-38 deficit.
The second half was much of the same story. The Thunder stayed behind by double-digit points. Will Richard knocked down an outside jumper to make it a 63-43 contest with seven minutes to go in the third quarter. At that point, the Thunder were in a 20-point hole just three minutes into the second half. Any intrigue from this game — in terms of the final result — was lost early on.
The Oklahoma City Thunder remain winless in the July extravaganza. They fell in a 104-79 Summer League loss to the Golden State Warriors. That said, Mara and Stirtz looked much more comfortable. That's all you can ask for at this event.
In a matchup between two former Michigan teammates, Mara one-upped Yaxel Lendeborg — who's been a Summer League darling. The former blocked the latter on a second-chance look. Even with the Thunder falling behind early, his play left you encouraged. They were in a 27-16 deficit after the first quarter.
The second frame probably saw Mara's best stretch in Summer League. He backed down Lachlan Olbrich in the post. A couple of power-dribbles later, he went up for the one-handed jam. Later on, he went at Graham Ike in the post. This time, on a turnaround jumper he was fouled on. The Thunder scored 22 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 53-38 deficit.
The second half was much of the same story. The Thunder stayed behind by double-digit points. Will Richard knocked down an outside jumper to make it a 63-43 contest with seven minutes to go in the third quarter. At that point, the Thunder were in a 20-point hole just three minutes into the second half. Any intrigue from this game — in terms of the final result — was lost early on.
18 days ago
