Key takeaways from Friday’s NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas

Day 6 of the Las Vegas Summer League gave us some great performances at the Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center. The best game on Friday night was between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons defeated the Knicks 93-87 for their first victory in the summer league behind a good outing from No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham. Also on Friday, we saw the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, and New Orleans Pelicans stay perfect with records of 3-0.

The NBA Summer League is a great place to not only see the 2021 rookie class, but also the 2020 rookie class, which made a lot of noise this past season in the association. Below we’ll take a look at a few of the takeaways from Friday’s action that you might’ve missed.

Cunningham puts on a show against the Knicks

No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham probably had his best game in the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday night against the Knicks. Cunningham got his night started by driving to the basket for a tough layup. But after that, Cunningham was locked in from the perimeter, shooting 7-of-10 from three-point range and 8-of-14 from the field en route to 24 points. He also added 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

At Oklahoma State last season, the most threes Cunningham made was 5 against Texas in the Big 12 championship game. Overall, he shot 40% from three-point range on 5.7 attempts per game. If Cunningham can be consistent a three-point shooter this upcoming season that will help out the Pistons a ton.

Toppin continues second-year players’ dominance in Vegas

Staying with the Knicks-Pistons game, while all the attention was on Cunningham, second-year forward Obi Toppin was dominating Detroit’s frontcourt to the tune of 31 points (13-20 FG, 2-5 3pt) and 9 rebounds.

Toppin has been one of the many second-year players who look like they are too good for the summer league and learned a lot from their rookie season. The former first-round pick was running the pick and roll efficiently with second-year point guard Immanuel Quickley Friday night. Toppin also showed off his range as he knocked down a couple of threes. Through 4 summer league games, the former Dayton Flyer is averaging 23.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.

Suggs out for the rest of summer league with injury

The Orlando Magic announced on Friday that rookie and No. 5 overall pick Jalen Suggs will miss the rest of the summer league with a left thumb sprain.

Suggs reportedly suffered the injury against the Boston Celtics on Thursday and had an MRI on Friday. The former Gonzaga standout was having a good summer league, averaging 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.

Final scores

Timberwolves 91, Bucks 64
Jazz 84, Heat 65
Pelicans 87, Cavaliers 74
Warriors 94, Thunder 84
Pistons 93, Knicks 87
Kings 90, Grizzlies 75
Lakers 86, Clippers 84