Johnathan Motley hit a game-winning jump shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock, and the Dallas Mavericks have won the Orlando Pro Summer League, clinching the franchise’s first summer crown after an 83-81 overtime win against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
Motley took an inbound pass from Ding Yanyuhang with 6.7 seconds left and the score tied at 81. He handed the ball off back to Ding, who drove the lane and found Motley in the middle of the paint. The rookie out of Baylor then nailed a fadeaway to put his team in front with three-tenths of a second remaining.
Dwight Buycks capped off a magnificent tournament with a 28-point performance, 21 of which came in the second half and OT, to go along with six assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Dallas was severely shorthanded in Thursday’s title game, as four of the club’s top-six scorers left Orlando to head to Las Vegas for this weekend’s summer league in the desert. Collectively, they had accounted for about 46 points per game through the first four contests. Motley and Luis Montero were elevated to the starting lineup, replacing Jameel Warney and Brandon Paul, respectively.
Motley, who signed a two-way contract with Dallas earlier this month, had his most productive game of the tournament by far — even the game-winner aside — finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Montero, the Mavs’ most effective outside defender, was tasked with checking both Luke Kennard and Pierre Jackson, Detroit’s most dynamic perimeter players. Montero stopped Jackson on consecutive possessions down the stretch in overtime.
The Pistons led by five at the half, 42-37. Motley and Ding Yanyuhang kept the Mavs close throughout the third quarter, but a late Pistons run stretched their lead to 10 by the end of the frame. Then Buycks took things over in the fourth as the Mavs made their comeback, outscoring Detroit 15-5 in the fourth to force the extra period.
Already short four top scorers, matters became worse late in the first half when point guard Cat Barber took a charge from Pistons big man Henry Ellenson. Barber, favoring his right leg, exited the game and would not return to action. That left Buycks and Jaime Smith as the only point guards on the roster. Smith, who received sparse playing time throughout the first four games of the tournament, opened the scoring in the two-minute overtime period and finished with nine points.
See the full box score here. The Mavs finished the tournament a perfect 5-0.
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