MANILA – Kai Sotto still has not touch the NBA Summer League court as Orlando Magic suffered an 82-80 overtime loss to New York Knicks on Wednesday night (Thursday, Manila time) at the Thomas & Mack center in Las Vegas.
This was the third consecutive benching of the 7-foot-3 Sotto as Magic Summer League head coach Dylan Murphy continues to trust the center position smaller DJ Wilson and Robert Baker II.
However, there are reports that the Gilas Pilipinas slotman will finally see action for the 0-3 Magic as they wrap up their campaign against Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday evening (Friday, Manila time).
The Magic seemed headed to a victory as they held to a 12-point advantage after three quarters but the Knicks slowly clawed its way back to take a 75-73 lead but Orlando’s Anthony Black beat the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
In the extension period, both teams traded baskets as they maintained the deadlock at 80-all following a three-pointer from Jett Howard but Jaylen Martin sealed the win for the Knicks with a short jumper.
Meanwhile, Ron Harper Jr.’s strong offensive showing went to naught as the Toronto Raptors suffered a 94-90 defeat to the Detroit Pistons to suffered their third defeat in as many games.
The Filipino-American forward finished with 12 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter, to go with seven rebounds, one steal and a block for the Raptors
Struggling with his shots in the first three quarters, Harper opened the fourth period with three consecutive inside shots as the Raptors established a 79-71 advantage.
The Pistons answered with a run to cut the deficit to three points but Harper converted four free throws as the Raptors maintained an 87-82 advantage with over two minutes left.
Detroit, however, countered with a massive 12-3 finishing run behind rookie Ausar Thompson, Jared Rhodes and Marcus Sasser to deny Toronto of its first win in the tournament./PN
