Paolo Banchero praises Keegan Murray after Magic tops Kings in crazy double-overtime game
A highly anticipated Las Vegas Summer League showdown between two of the top picks in the 2022 NBA draft did not disappoint.
Keegan Murray helped the Kings storm back from an 18-point deficit over the final 4:22 of regulation. In the end, Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic escaped with a 94-92 victory in a wild and memorable sudden-death double-overtime game Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center.
Banchero, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound power forward who came out of Duke as the No. 1 pick in June’s draft, finished with 23 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocked shots for Orlando. He went 6 of 15 from the field and committed eight turnovers, but he dazzled with a rare blend of size, athleticism and playmaking ability.
Murray, a 6-8, 215-pound power forward who came out of Iowa as the No. 4 pick, posted 20 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and five turnovers. He went 5 of 11 from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range, including a clutch 3 from the left wing that tied the game with 0.2 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.
Banchero had high praise for Murray when asked about their matchup after the game.
“Awesome,” Banchero said. “He’s a great player. Tremendous offense, man. He’s a shotmaker. Every time he shoots, it’s almost like I think it’s going in. On that last one, I told him ‘I knew you were going to make it’ as soon as he shot it. He’s a great player and it was fun to compete against him.”
Neemias Queta had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, who will play the Indiana Pacers at noon Sunday at Cox Pavilion. Keon Ellis added 15 points, going 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
The Kings trailed by 11 going into the fourth quarter. They were down 82-64 when Ellis connected from long distance to ignite a 23-5 run that had the crowd buzzing.
The Kings cut the deficit to three on a 3-pointer by Queta with five seconds remaining. Ade Murkey poked the ball away from R.J. Hampton on the ensuing inbound, allowing Murray to come up with the steal.
Murray stepped back and calmly pump-faked as Banchero and Hampton flew by with arms extended, showing tremendous poise and patience to give himself an open look to tie the game. Murray buried it and the crowd erupted, setting off a wild celebration on the Sacramento bench.
“Under control,” Kings coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Everything for him is under control. It’s really hard to find that overall, but from a rookie it’s even more impressive. That play at the end, he had two guys on him, shot fake, sidestep, the ball went in. He knew he had enough time.”
One overtime wasn’t enough to decide the outcome, so the Kings and Magic went into double-overtime. Under Las Vegas Summer League rules, the second overtime session is sudden death, so the first team to score is the winner.
The Kings thought they would have a chance to win the game at the free-throw line when Banchero was called for a foul on a dunk attempt by Queta, but Orlando, led by former Kings assistant coach Jesse Mermuys, challenged the call. After a lengthy review, officials overturned the call. Even worse for Sacramento, they awarded possession to the Magic rather than calling a jump ball, saying Banchero had already secured possession when the foul was called.
The Kings tried to come up with one more defensive stop, but Banchero passed inside to Emanuel Terry, a member of Sacramento’s 2021 Las Vegas Summer League championship team, for a game-winning layup.
This story was originally published July 10, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
