Exum, Jazz ride second-quarter wave to win in summer league opener

(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Dante Exum was a sleeping giant in the first quarter of Utah’s first home summer league game since 2008.

By the second quarter, he showed off his giant side, though.

Exum scored 12 of his 20 points in the second 10-minute period, and the Utah Jazz outran the Boston Celtics, 100-82, Monday, the first night of the Utah Jazz Summer League at EnergySolutions Arena.

“He surprised me when he kept shooting,” fellow second-year Jazz man Rodney Hood said of Exum. “He missed a couple, and came back and hit a third like he just hit three in a row. He looked good.”

Exum shot 5-of-11 from the field, including knocking down 9-of-10 free throws to go along with five assists and five rebounds before being helped off the court in the fourth quarter with a left ankle sprain.

By that point, the Jazz led 93-78, and there was little doubt in the game. And if any remained, Hood slammed the door with a team-high 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to lead the Jazz (1-0) to a win in front of 10,215 fans.

“It was fun. I knew it was going to be packed,” Hood said. “Utah fans always, regardless of the time of year, come out and support. They really pumped us up.”

Jack Cooley added 13 points, 13 rebounds and a blocked shot in just 16 minutes of action for the Jazz.

The Jazz bench outscored the Celtics’ reserves, 27-9, including 11 points from Bryce Cotton. The Providence product swished a buzzer-beating trey at the half to give his team a lead it would never relinquish.

Utah's Dante Exum goes hard to the basket and is fouled by Jordan Mickey as the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics play Monday, July 6, 2015, in Summer League action at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City Utah. (Photo: Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
Utah's Dante Exum goes hard to the basket and is fouled by Jordan Mickey as the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics play Monday, July 6, 2015, in Summer League action at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City Utah. (Photo: Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)

“What a great job, especially in the second half,” Jazz summer league coach Alex Jensen said. “I think everyone was a little anxious and jittery, but we did a nice job of settling down.”

Exum led a second-quarter flurry for the Jazz, leading a comeback from a 25-20 first-quarter deficit and going ahead, 36-34 on a 3-pointer with 4:10 left in the half. By the time the halftime whistle sounded, Utah had outscored the Celtics 31-15 through the period and led 51-40.

“He’s spent a lot of time in the gym,” Jensen said of Exum. “I’m sure it was nice to get out and actually against a team instead of just a drill. He’s worked extremely hard, and I think tonight was another step forward for him.”

Boston’s Marcus Smart led all scorers with 26 points, adding five rebounds for a Boston team that got double-figure scoring from Jordan Mickey (16), C.J. Fair (12) and James Young (12).

The Jazz will play San Antonio Tuesday at 7 p.m., while Boston takes on Philadelphia in the early game at 5 p.m. at EnergySolutions Arena.

“I told them before the game there were going to be a lot of fans," Jensen said. "It lifts them There’s no organization like it; I don’t know if there’s another team that could do that.”

SAN ANTONIO 74, PHILADELPHIA 71 — At EnergySolutions Arena, Dairis Bertans was one of the oldest players on the court for the Spurs Monday.

After scoring a team-high 19 points, the 25-year-old Latvia native, who played with Spain’s Bilbao Basket, did what any veteran would do in a tie ball game in the final minute: he passed.

Livio Jean-Charles finished off Bertans’ setup from under the basket with a thunderous dunk with eight seconds remaining, and the Spurs won their Utah Jazz Summer League opener, 74-71, over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"That was kind of a lucky play because that was the only chance I had," said Bertans, who also had three assists for San Antonio. "If not, I would just fall out of bounds. I had to throw it up and luckily one of my teammates was there to make it."

No. 3 overall draft pick Jahlil Okafor of the Sixers led all scorers with 20 points, including eight in the third quarter when Philadelphia led by as many as 11 points, but the Spurs chipped away at the lead and came back in a wild fourth quarter.

“I’d probably give it a C-minus,” Okafor said. “I could’ve played better. I think I got more comfortable (in the second half). I haven’t played a five-on-five since the national championship, and I was ironing some things out.”

Jordan McRae and Jerami Grant added 15 and 13 points, respectively, for Philadelphia, which jumped out to a 12-7 lead early before falling behind by a bucket after the opening 10-minute quarter.

Jean-Charles finished with six points, six blocks and seven rebounds for the Spurs, who got 12 points each from Cady Lalanne and Casper Ware and outpaced the 76ers 25-17 in the fourth quarter.

Okafor and Grant scored four consecutive points to give Philadelphia its first lead since early in the game at 43-40, and J.P. Tokoto scored on a big-play putback as the Sixers took a 52-43 lead with 2:56 left in the third.

But the fourth quarter belonged to Ware, who heated up for six of his 12 points in the final period, including a 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining to go up 71-68 and give the Spurs the lead for good.

“I’m pretty excited to be on the team this season,” Okafor said. “I’m getting used to them, building relationships and building chemistry.”

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