Johnny Furphy flashes versatility, Jarace Walker shows range, but Pacers lose in summer

Posted by Admin July 15, 2024 NBA

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The Pacers were outscored 12-1 in the final 1:35 of Sunday’s NBA Summer League game to fall 105-94 to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

The Pacers fell to 0-2 and play Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns. The Timberwolves improved to 2-0.

Here are four observations.

Turnovers lead Pacers to a second straight loss

After committing 28 turnovers against the Nets on Friday, the Pacers were slightly more careful with the ball on Sunday, but not much. The Timberwolves did both a much better job of taking care of the ball than the Nets and a much better job of turning turnovers into points, especially live-ball turnovers. The difference in giveaways was once again the difference.

The Pacers committed 25 turnovers on Sunday and the Timberwolves turned those into 32 points. Most of those were live-ball as Minnesota recorded 17 steals, which was a big reason the Timberwolves finished with 26 fast-break points to Indiana’s 17.

Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark, who was named the NABC national Defensive Player of the Year at UCLA in 2022-23, led the charge with six steals in just 19 minutes off the bench. Starters Terrance Shannon Jr., Daishen Nix, Josh Minott and Rob Dillingham had two steals each. Wings Shannon and Nix got going in transition thanks in large part to those steals, as Nix scored 20 points and Shannon had 15.

The Timberwolves the turned the ball over just 10 times, meanwhile, and the Pacers scored 11 points off turnovers. Indiana finished with just three steals.

Johnny Furphy shows offensive versatility

The first and the youngest of the Pacers’ three second-round picks in the 2024 draft showed again that he’s further along in his development than many realized.

Johnny Furphy, the 6-9 wing from Kansas and the No. 35 pick in the draft, followed a 12-point effort in the opener with even more offensive potency.

Furphy scored 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting in the first half, hitting a 3 but also showing effectiveness around the rim and in transition, counting multiple dunks among his 2-point buckets. He went on to finish with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting, including 2 of 8 from 3, with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Jarace Walker hits five 3s, struggles elsewhere

Jarace Walker showed how much work he’s been putting in from 3-point range, but the rest of his offensive game wasn’t as impressive.

After missing all three of his 3-point attempts on Friday, Walker hit three straight 3s in the first quarter Sunday and finished 5 of 11 from beyond the arc. However, he took just three shots inside the arc and missed them all, finishing with 15 points. He added eight rebounds, four assists and a block, but also had issues with turnovers again, giving the ball away three times.

Quenton Jackson, Enrique Freeman, Dakota Mathias among bright spots

Despite the loss, the Pacers got a few other individual performances they could build on.

Quenton Jackson, the starting point guard trying to hold on to a two-way contract, had five assists against nine turnovers and shot 3 of 10 from the floor in Friday’s loss to Brooklyn. On Sunday he played more under control, scoring 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting, with a pair of 3-pointers and four assists against two turnovers in 15 minutes.

Second-round pick Enrique Freeman, who led Division I in rebounding last season in Akron, continues to display high energy and the ability to finish around the rim. He finished 5 of 5 from the floor with a 3-pointer for 14 points.

Former Purdue wing Dakota Mathias is trying to get a basketball job back in the United States and he seems to be shooting well enough to give himself a chance. He finished with 15 points, hitting 4 of 5 3-point attempts.