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Deandre Ayton said he felt like a rookie in his Summer League debut, but he looked more like himself in his second outing in Las Vegas.
The big man had 21 points and 12 rebounds (including five offensive rebounds) in 29 minutes as the Phoenix Suns held off Marvin Bagley III and the Sacramento Kings, 71-63.
Ayton was incredibly efficient, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. He had a block and a steal, too.
Bagley had 15 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-12 shooting.
Here’s highlights of their battle:
This performance came a day after Ayton was held to 10 points and eight rebounds on six shots against the Mavericks, who double-teamed him from the opening tip.
“The first game I think he was a little nervous,” said Suns forward Josh Jackson. “It took him a little while to come out of his shell, but I think he’s finally starting to realize that nobody can guard him. Teams have to bring two defenders. No one person can guard him.”
While Ayton’s final stat-line was much better Saturday, his performance was mostly viewed as a “quiet” 21 and 12 by media folks:
Suns win. Ayton managed 21 and 12 in what was a pretty meh performance, which is impressive. The guy can certainly produce.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) July 8, 2018
I wouldn't say this was a particularly impressive looking game from Ayton, but then you look up and he's got 21 and 12 on great efficiency.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) July 8, 2018
Lesson of this Summer league- Ayton is going to be really good with a quality point guard.
— Tim Tompkins (@RadioTimNBA) July 8, 2018
One thing to remember: Hard to judge big men in Summer League because often they're not getting great guard play. That said, been mixed bag for Ayton
— scott bordow (@sbordow) July 8, 2018
Ayton floating on offense. Screens aren’t catching anyone, he isn’t sealing when he gets post position. Add bad passes from teammates and ...
— Kevin Zimmerman (@KZimmermanAZ) July 8, 2018
Also as much as I can nitpick Ayton, he’s opening a lot up for teammates that’s not ending in puntos because, well, SUMMER LEAGUE.
— Kevin Zimmerman (@KZimmermanAZ) July 8, 2018