Former Mizzou standout Tamar Bates continued to showcase his offensive prowess in the Denver Nuggets’ 101-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Summer League on Tuesday at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Bates finished with 14 points, one rebound, three assists and three steals, shooting 6 for 16 from the field in his first game as a starter.
The highlight of the 6-foot-5 guard’s night was when he sized up his defender at the center-court logo, received a screen from center Tyrell Harrison, drove to the right wing and drilled a step-back 3-pointer to extend the Nuggets’ lead to 9-5 with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter.
Bates, from Kansas City, Kansas, made a couple of crucial plays down the stretch to spark a comeback attempt: He scored in the paint and sank a 3-pointer from the right corner to cut Denver’s deficit to 87-80 and 93-89, respectively. The first basket came with 3:10 left, and the second happened with 1:16 to play.
Bates’ second quarter scoring production consisted of hitting a midrange jump shot and rattling the rim with a dunk with 5:49 and 3:50 remaining, respectively. The midrange shot gave the Nuggets a 36-31 lead, while the dunk extended their advantage to 41-36. Then he scored a layup to cut the Raptors’ lead to 60-50 with 4:53 left in the third quarter.
The defeat marked Bates’ second consecutive double-digit scoring outing, as he tallied 14 points in Denver’s 94-83 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Up next
Wednesday’s action includes DeMarre Carroll coaching the Phoenix Suns against the Timberwolves at 4 p.m. on NBATV, Caleb Grill and the Chicago Bulls taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and John Tonje and the Utah Jazz facing the Washington Wizards at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
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