Clippers guard Kobe Brown missed one of two free throws in the final two seconds on Sunday afternoon to end the Clippers’ NBA summer league season.
Trailing by two points with 1.7 seconds left, Brown made the first one, but the ball bounced off the rim on his second attempt giving the Memphis Grizzlies a 99-98 victory in the semifinals at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Memphis will play the Miami Heat, who defeated the Golden State Warriors, in the title game on Monday.
The Clippers (4-1) came up short despite stellar performances from Jordan Miller, who scored 28 points on 8-of-14 shooting before fouling out with 4:20 left in the game.
Newly drafted Cam Christie from the University of Minnesota used Sunday’s game to display some of the skills that made the 6-foot-6 guard attractive to the Clippers in the draft.
Christie, who the Clippers selected with the No. 46 pick, scored 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including six 3-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds. He also showed flashes of solid defense, athleticism and being effective away from the ball.
And Christie did all that with his older brother, Max, who plays for the Lakers, watched courtside.
“He’s doing a really good job,” Max Christie said on ESPN. “He’s creating his own path, his own journey.”
The Clippers led by nine when Miller went to the bench in the third quarter with four fouls. The Grizzlies took advantage of his absence to grab the lead and take a 73-67 advantage into the fourth quarter. Miller got the team back into the game, pulling them to within 77-73 on a four-point play with 8:45 to play.
But it wasn’t enough against the combined play of Jaylen Wells, a rookie from Washington State, and rookie Scottie Pippen Jr. Wells buried six 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, while Pippen Jr. posted a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Grizzlies were able to advance despite not having rookie Zach Edey, the No. 9 overall pick in the draft, who was shut down after suffering an ankle injury in an earlier game. The former Purdue center played in just two Summer League games.
