SAN ANTONIO — After starting summer league play with a 2-1 finish in Salt Lake City this week, the Spurs have set up camp in Las Vegas, which will be the epicenter of pro basketball for the next 10 days.
The Silver and Black continue their July schedule against the Orlando Magic at 10 p.m. Friday at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion. All 30 NBA teams, plus the Croatia and China national teams, will play in the Las Vegas Summer League, which tipped off Friday and ends July 15.
The marquee matchup on opening night pits the New Orleans Pelicans against the New York Knicks at 8:30. The game will feature Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s NBA draft, and Knicks small forward RJ Barrett, the No. 3 overall selection. Williamson and Barrett were teammates at Duke for one season before turning pro.
San Antonio played three games in three nights in the Salt Lake City Summer League, beating Cleveland (97-89) on Monday and Memphis (99-84) on Tuesday before falling to Utah (84-81) in Wednesday night’s finale.
The Spurs’ roster included second-year guard Lonnie Walker IV and the franchise’s 2019 draft selections – forward Luka Samanic (19th overall pick), swingman Keldon Johnson (29th overall pick) and guard Quinndary Weatherspoon (49th overall pick).
Blake Ahearn, coach of San Antonio’s G League affiliate, coached the summer Spurs in Salt Lake City, but Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon will direct the team in Las Vegas. Hammon guided the Silver and Black to the Las Vegas Summer League title in 2015.
Walker had a strong performance in Salt Lake City, averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. He had the third-best scoring average in the league and also shot 52 percent from the field. Walker was selected by the Silver and Black with the No. 18 overall pick in last year’s draft.
Walker scored a game-high 20 points and added seven rebounds to lead the Spurs to their win over Cleveland. Walker was 8 of 12 from the field.
Johnson, who is only 19, recorded the league’s highest scoring game with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor in the Spurs’ victory against Memphis.
“He’s aggressive, physical, guards and gives great effort,” Ahearn said of Johnson. “I think that helped with the offense part too.”
Johnson, who hit 3 of 4 three-pointers, also had three steals while playing 25 minutes.
“Defense comes first, then the offense will come,” Johnson said after his big night against Memphis. “Today, I felt I was more assertive and more aggressive which I felt translated to the offensive end.”
Asked his takeaway on the Spurs’ team defense, Johnson said: “You have to communicate, stay in the loop with each other. That’s the main thing on defense, make sure you know the rotation and that you’re not late. If you are late, then just keep pressing and scramble.”
Second-year forward Chimezie Metu was on San Antonio’s roster for the Salt Lake Summer League, but did not make the trip to Utah after having an abscess drained from his right foot last week. He still isn’t with the team in Las Vegas, according to reports.