Jabari Smith Jr. had his most efficient NBA summer league game to date and fellow rookie Tari Eason put up a third straight double-double, leading the Rockets to a 97-84 win (box score) over San Antonio. Houston (2-1) trailed by 18 late in Monday’s second quarter before outscoring the Spurs (0-3) by a whopping 31 points over the final two-plus quarters.
Smith scored 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%) and 3-of-5 on 3-pointers (60.0%) in his 28 minutes, and he also contributed with strong defense, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals. Houston was +23 with the Auburn product on the court in Las Vegas, and -10 in the 12 minutes he sat.
Meanwhile, Eason led the Rockets in scoring and rebounding with 22 points and 11 rebounds, respectively, and he also added 2 steals and 2 blocks. The rookie forward from LSU was efficient for a second straight game, making 9-of-16 shots (56.3%) and 2-of-3 on 3-pointers (66.7%).
