Orlando Pro Summer League, Day One: Looking Back

Boston can’t feel good about the loss, but the play of second-round draft choice Luke Harangody should be encouraging. Harangody isn’t a lock to make the final team, but his outside shot—no matter how unconventional—could make him indispensable. He shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and led Boston with 23 points, but his defense is so suspect that the Celtics were rotating him in and out of the game in late offense/defense substitutions.

Harden stole the show, but Mullens made an impression as well. Though he has a slight build, Mullens isn’t afraid to mix it up inside under the boards. He has a solid shooting stroke for a big man, and range out to around 19 fee. What made him especially important in this game was his ability to finish in traffic, however. In the second half, he was more active on the weak side and on his rolls to the hoop, and to their credit, his teammates looked for him more actively. He appeared in just 13 games as a rookie, but could crack the rotation this year as long as he continues to bulk up and refine his work with his back to the basket.

Second-round draft pick Lance Stephenson, a point guard from Cincinnati, dazzled in his NBA debut, scoring 21 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 86-77 win over the helpless Orlando Magic in the second game of Orlando Pro Summer-League action. He even impressed All-Star small forward Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, in town to support his Thunder teammates participating this week, who posted this message to his Twitter account during the game:

Stephenson made everything look effortless, getting through Orlando’s perimeter defense with ease and finishing inside. Second-rounder aren’t guaranteed NBA contracts, but Stephenson’s a safe bet to make it to Indiana’s training camp. The Pacers’ alternatives are A.J. Price and T.J. Ford, which does little to inspire confidence in their rotation. He capped off the day with a tomahawk slam after shaking Orlando’s Curtis Stinson with a right-left-right crossover, putting the Pacers up 11 with 1:25 to play.

The Utah Jazz made a spirited, impressive comeback after falling behind by 18 points to the Charlotte Bobcats this afternoon, but in the end, the Bobcats’ athletic perimeter combination of Derrick Brown and Gerald Henderson proved too much for Utah to handle, scoring 20 points each. A driving layup by Tyrese Rice to end the third quarter brought the Jazz to within 2 points, and Thomas Gardner opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a three-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Jazz a one-point lead, their first since the first half. But the Bobcats got back to basics by getting out in transition and attacking the basket with authority.

Utah simply couldn’t keep up, but made another impressive rally at the end that also fell short, scoring 12 straight points in the final two minutes. Incredibly, they had the final possession and a chance to win, but Sundiata Gaines’ fadeaway three-pointer from the right corner went long and bounced out. Rookie Gordon Hayward had a decent enough look at a catch-and-shoot three from the left wing earlier in the possession, but deferred instead.

I’m Evan Dunlap, known as Ben Q. Rock at Orlando Pinstriped Post, SB Nation’s Magic blog, and I’ll be there to cover all 20 games this week for SB Nation.com. Here’s what’s on tap tonight. For a fee, you can watch the action streaming on NBA.com. Check back in this StoryStream for updates after every game.