LAS VEGAS —
GAME RECAP
First quarter
San Antonio’s sophomore stars had another frustrating start to this contest, as Devin Vassell repeated his 1-5 shooting start and Tre Jones lost the ball on one of his first possessions. A few of those misses by Vassell got put back in the hoop, including one of the most Summer League-ey possessions you could ever hope to see.
San Antonio was able to build a 26-14 lead after the first quarter, and it was the other guys who stepped up and delivered Jaylen Morris scored 10 points in the period, and Malik Newman continued his impressive Summer League run.
DeMar DeRozan was spotted courtside with Bulls coach Billy Donovan, watching his new team play against the rookies he helped mentor last season
Second quarter
The defensive intensity was already good, but really picked up for the Spurs in the second. Vassell was a catalyst for that, making several solid plays in transition and at the rim.
In an offensive role reversal, Vassell found Jones at the arc for a triple that he calmly knocked down. Rookie Joe Wieskamp got in on the action as well, catching and shooting and hitting a pair of triples. That made it his first pro game with multiple threes.
Tre Jones made a series of solid decisions as the lead ball handler, driving to the cup, drawing fouls, finishing crafty layups and involving his teammates. He finished the half with 10 points, and San Antonio led 52-37
Vassell asked out of the game in the second quarter and headed to the locker room. The Spurs announced that he was experiencing tightness in his right hamstring, and wouldn’t return to the game.
Third quarter
Tre Jones continued to attack with control and aggression, displaying the kind of craft that you’d expect to see from a second-year lead guard at Summer League. Some of the finishes were downright special.
He did wind up taking a tumble and grabbing his ankle, but he remained in the game and looked to be fine.
Chicago outscored the Spurs 29-17 in the third, cutting their deficit to 69-66 heading to the fourth.
Fourth quarter
The Bulls opened the final period with a 15-2 run with Jones out of the ballgame, making it a 44-19 run going back to the start of the second half. That put them in front by double digits.
Tre Jones led the charge helping the Spurs chip away at the lead when he checked back in. There were a few shots in close that he missed, but was able to recover and put it back in.
San Antonio got a few big shots down the stretch from Malik Newman, who helped trim it to a single possession deficit.
The Spurs needed a stop down three, the Bulls seemed to target Joe Wieskamp in pick and roll, and it ended in a ferocious dunk for Patrick Williams.
Jones took it to the rim strong again, giving him 23 for the game, but it wasn’t enough as the Spurs fell, 92-89.
Pregame
After three games in Utah and their first game at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, the Summer League Spurs are still searching for their first win.
San Antonio started slow on Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, as second-year players Tre Jones and Devin Vassell both stumbled out of the gate. They both turned it around, as Jones finished with 16 points and 8 assists while Vassell had 23 points despite a poor shooting performance, but they couldn't execute on the final play and fell 91-89.
Jones said that he needed to knock some rust off in his first game back after banging his head, and he did just that as he continued to attack the rim and create for himself and his teammates.
"At the end of the day, I think once he started getting going and kinda found his rhythm, he got all of us going. Started going downhill, started getting to the cup, started playing good defense, and after that that translated everything for us and we really started getting going. He was leading the huddles and bringing us all in, and me and him are the leaders of this team, and we're getting everything together. I'm disappointed that we lost this game, cause we were supposed to win this one, but we've got three more and I'm ready to get to it."
Vassell and the other summer Spurs don't need to wait long for their next shot at victory in Vegas, as they'll face off against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
This story will be updated with video highlights and analysis from the arena. Follow @RealTomPetrini on Twitter for the latest.