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Acuff gets revenge as Kings top Clippers on opening night of NBA Summer League
- Terrel Emerson
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Fans don’t always see top picks guard each other during NBA Summer League but that’s exactly what they got when the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers met on the first night of this year’s summer showcase in Las Vegas.
Sacramento topped Los Angeles in the night cap of Day 1, 91-85, from the Thomas & Mack Center. As a storyline, the game served as an early “revenge” game for No. 7 overall pick Darius Acuff Jr., whom the Clippers passed on in favor of Illinois guard Keaton Wagler.
“Just trying to be more efficient,” Acuff said. “But I’m trying to get my assists up for sure, getting those guys involved because they’re great players. As long as we keep getting the wins, that’ll be good for us.”
When asked if this game was personal, Acuff didn’t shy away from his honest retort.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s how you have to play it [...] Every matchup I take is personal.”
Acuff got up five field goal attempts before Wagler attempted his first. That first shot try came on a last-second three-point attempt at the conclusion of the first quarter.
More than halfway through the second quarter, Wagler scored his first points of the game in his professional debut.
“It was physical,” head coach Jay Larranaga said. “They were very, very physical so it’s like baptism by fire. There’s nothing better than to have a game like that and knowing Keaton, he’s going to be excited to watch the film and he’s going to be excited to play against those guys again.”
For most of the night, Wagler was thrown multiple defenders including Acuff Jr., the Kings’ first round pick last year Nique Clifford and Emanuel Sharp. In his first showing of the summer, Wagler was limited to seven points on 1-of-7 shooting.
“That’s NBA basketball,” Larranaga said. “From game-to-game what people are allowed to do, from the regular season to the playoffs. One of the things that veteran players learn early on is to adjust to the referees. What are the referees calling tonight and what are they allowing.”
Los Angeles was led in scoring by now three-year pro Cam Christie, who poured in 15 points on just three makes from the floor.
“I’ve been really impressed with Cam from day one,” Larranaga said. “From his maturity to his work ethic to his confidence and his self-awareness. I thought he played really well tonight but I think every time he’s been called on he’s really shown something.”
Just after Wagler made his first bucket of the game, Sacramento made its move. The team closed the first half on a 16-5 run to take the lead into the halftime break.
Coming out of the break, the Clippers continued to struggle offensively. At one point, the team scored just 22 points over a 15-plus minute span which included just four makes from the field during that stretch.
“Just turn the pressure back up,” Acuff said. “I think we turned it down a little bit and got away from the game. Just down the stretch we’ve got to be better, I’ve got to be better as the point guard.”
Soon after, the Kings went up by 14 points before leading by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter. Even with that, the Clippers made another run in the form of a 10-0 run to trim the deficit to six points.
They’d never inch any closer than that.
Acuff turned in 19 points and a game-high seven assists highlighted by a 12-point first half. From the field he shot a cold 6-for-20 on the way to the victory.
“No, I’m critical [of my performance],” he said. “A lot.”
Sacramento was led by 21 points by the aforementioned Sharp while forward Dylan Cardwell was a rebound away from a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
“As long as we got the win, I’m good,” Acuff said. “I want to work on my game for sure but as long as we got the win. Emanuel played great again tonight, I think that’s his third game in a row. He’s been, in my opinion, our best player.”
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