Bucks: Rashad Vaughn solid as Bucks drop Summer League opener
By Phil Watson
First-round pick Rashad Vaughn was in familiar territory Friday for the Milwaukee Bucks’ opener in Las Vegas Summer League play.
Sort of.
ALSO ON DAIRYLAND EXPRESS: Remembering The Kareem Trade
The 18-year-old from UNLV said he never played at Cox Pavilion—home of UNLV’s women’s basketball team—during his one year on campus with the Runnin’ Rebels.
The 17th overall pick in last month’s draft scored 14 points with five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes Friday, shooting 5-of-14 from the floor and 0-for-4 from 3-point range, as the Bucks lost a 101-89 decision to the New Orleans Pelicans.
“I enjoyed being back in front of the UNLV fans, being back here,” Vaughn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I got a little winded and just had to push through it. I’m just coming out there, trying to get acclimated to the NBA, just competing and trying to get better.”
It was Vaughn’s first game action since Feb. 10, when he sustained a torn meniscus in his left knee in a game against Fresno State.
More from Milwaukee Bucks
- Bucks Film Room Podcast: 3 Positive Takeaways
- Milwaukee Bucks Notebook: “Do Your Work Early”
- Bucks Film Room Podcast: Position-by-Position Look at Rotation
- 3 Bucks Who Need to Step Up after Jae Crowder’s Injury
- 10 Takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks First 10 Games
He finished his lone season at UNLV averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 32.3 minutes per game, shooting .439/.383/.694.
The Bucks (0-1) fell behind early, with New Orleans (1-0) opening the game on an 18-8 run and taking a 29-13 lead after one quarter.
Milwaukee rallied to cut the deficit to 48-42 at halftime, but the Pelicans led 75-64 heading into the fourth.
The Bucks got the deficit down to four at 82-78 on Jerome Randle’s driving layup with five minutes remaining, but New Orleans scored the next four points and pulled away from there for the win.
Vaughn made an impression on his new boss.
“I thought Rashad was good [Friday],” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “Being home maybe helped with being comfortable.
“Being only 18, I thought he handled himself quite well. He let the game come to him. He didn’t take any bad shots. He did what he was supposed to do, take wide-open shots. He competed on defense. Now this is something he can build on.”
Damien Inglis, the Bucks’ second-round pick in 2014, made his long-delayed debut in an NBA uniform Friday after missing all of last season with a foot injury. He scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting with two rebounds and an assist in 11 minutes of action.
Other notable players from the roster included guard Jorge Gutierrez, who started at point guard and finished with two points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 27 minutes, but was 0-for-4 from the floor and missed his lone 3-pointer.
Milwaukee’s other second-round pick last year, Johnny O’Bryant, did not play because of a hamstring injury.
Sean Kilpatrick, who spent four games with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, led Milwaukee with 24 points with four rebounds in 26 minutes, hitting 6-of-14 overall and 2-of-8 from 3-point range. Undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2014, Kilpatrick split last season between the Santa Cruz Warriors and Delaware 87ers in the D-League, averaging 13.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and one steal in 28 minutes per game on .431/.346/.880 shooting.
Kevin Jones, a center who was undrafted out of West Virginia in 2012 and played last season with Cholet Basket in France, chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds, hitting 7-of-11 shots in 29 minutes. He last played in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012-13.
Randle, a 5-foot-10 guard from California who was undrafted in 2010 and has never played in an NBA game, scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with three assists in 24 minutes. He played for Eskisehir Basket in Turkey last season.
Live Feed
Betsided
Cameron Clark, a wing from Oklahoma who was undrafted in 2014, also scored 12 points, hitting 6-of-10 shots in 15 minutes with two rebounds. He played for Vanoli Cremona in Italy last season.
Seth Curry paced New Orleans with 30 points. Victor Rudd added 17 points and six rebounds, Fuquan Edwin had 16 and Larry Drew II went for 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Khem Birch also had six boards and scored six points for the Pelicans.
The Bucks were 33-for-70 overall, 47.1 percent, just hit just 3-of-17 from deep while going 20-for-23 (87 percent) at the foul line. New Orleans shot 55.1 percent and his 11-of-29 from long range (37.9 percent). They were 14-for-21 at the line.
Other players on the Bucks’ Summer League roster include center Michael Eric (Temple/Panelefsiniakos-Greece and Enel Brindisi-Italy last season), center Viacheslav Kravtsov (Ukraine/Foshon Drailons-China), guard McKenzie Moore (UTEP/Nelson Giants-New Zealand), center Ugochukwi Njoka (Detroit/did not play professionally last season) and guard Durand Scott (Miami/Hapoel Tel Aviv-Israel).
The Bucks play again Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs at 5:30 p.m. Central.
Next: Bucks Deal Pachulia, Go Crazy Young