Guard Jordan Miller continued his offensive onslaught, scoring 21 points to lead the Clippers to an 87-78 victory Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets in a Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
While not as efficient shooting as he was in posting 36 points in the team’s opener two days earlier, Miller (4 of 12 from the field) was perfect from the line against the Nets, hitting all 13 of his free throws. He also posted five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Miller credited veteran guard Norman Powell for giving him tips on foul shooting. Powell was sitting courtside Sunday, along with new Clippers Mo Bamba and Derrick Jones Jr.
“I had a lot of talks with him (Powell). You know he gets to the line a lot, so I just took the information and ran with it,” Miller told The Athletic.
Kobe Brown added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and had six rebounds and two assists. RayJ Dennis and Elijah Harkless each had 10 points as the Clippers shot 41.7% from the floor and 35.7% (10 of 18) from 3-point range.
The Clippers (2-0) dominated most of the game, leading by as many as 20 early in the fourth quarter, but needed some solid defensive work to hold off the Nets in the final two minutes. Brooklyn had overcome a double-digit deficit in its first Summer League game to win in overtime.
The Nets, led by Keon Johnson’s 27 points and six rebounds, closed to within nine, 82-73, on a 3-pointer by Jalen Wilson off a pass by Johnson with 1:08 left to play.
After a series of free throws by Miller and Amari Bailey (UCLA), Johnson hit a jump shot to keep the Nets within nine, 84-75, with 53 seconds remaining. But that was as close as Brooklyn would get.
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Brown got the Clippers rolling with back-to-back 3-pointers to start the game as the team opened an 18-7 lead in the first six minutes. Brown’s long-range shots were just the first of nine the Clippers made in the first half as they took a 44-33 lead into halftime.
Dennis, an undrafted rookie out of Baylor, added three 3-pointers in the first half. He signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers earlier this month, giving him a chance to earn a two-way spot after the Summer League.
After taking a 30-18 lead in the final minute of the first quarter, the game stalled as neither team scored in a five-minute-plus stretch. The Nets’ Mark Armstrong got the game moving with a floater at the 7:26 mark but Brooklyn couldn’t overtake the Clippers, who led, 40-21, four minutes later.