Orlando Pro Summer League: Thunder Best Nets In Duel Of Point Guards

ORLANDO -- In one of the most exciting games of the Orlando Pro Summer League to date, the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied past the Brooklyn Nets, 87-86, behind the dynamic point-guard play of Dwight Buycks.

Star player: Buycks started at point guard for OKC in Reggie Jackson's place to give Jackson the day off. Buycks, who spent the 2011/12 season with OKC's D-League affiliate in Tulsa, ran the pick-and-roll well and stayed on the attack throughout the game. His spinning jumper in the lane with 28.6 to play broke an 83-83 tie to give the Thunder a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Buycks finished with 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor.

Honorable mention: Nets rookie Tyshawn Taylor put up 23 points and opened the game 6-of-6 from the field, displaying good body control and touch on his drives to the rim. His 3-of-12 finish to the game suggests he'll surely need more seasoning before he's ready to serve as Deron Williams' backup. In the final 30 seconds, Taylor missed two driving layup tries that would have tied the game.

Disappointing player: Adam Morrison's NBA comeback bid hasn't gone well. The former No. 3 overall pick of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006 missed three of his four shots... and the one he made, a contested stepback 18-footer, is one he should not have taken. Morrison's now shooting 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) through four games of summer-league play, and he's not contributing in the other columns of the stat sheet.

Dishonorable mention: The Thunder's Morris Almond shifted to small forward for Thursday's game, and the nominal two-guard didn't impress, going 2-of-10 from the floor. That's a poor figure for anyone, especially for a wing known for his scoring prowess. Having said that, Almond blocked a Brian Dunston layup attempt and pulled in four offensive rebounds.

Prospect watch: Four key Thunder prospects missed Thursday's game: Jackson, center Cole Aldrich, swingman Lazar Hayward, and forward Perry Jones III. Jones has a sprained ankle, which injury forced him to miss Wednesday's game, while Hayward sat due to flu-like symptoms, according to Darnell Mayberry.

At 28, Al Thornton's hardly a prospect, but his 19-point performance for the Nets in defeat bears mentioning. The combo forward is probably talented enough to round out an NBA bench somewhere, but he may stand to make more money overseas; he last played for the Guayama Wizards in Puerto Rico.

Brooklyn center Jeff Foote, a veteran of the Nets' NBA D-League affiliate, put up a tidy nine points and seven rebounds in just 19 minutes.