LAS VEGAS โ Dalen Terry had seen enough.
When the Chicago Bulls trailed the New York Knicks 54-24 with just over a minute left in the first half of their 101-69 loss in the second game at NBA Summer League on Sunday, the former Arizona Wildcat and No. 18 overall pick chirped at his teammates sitting on the sideline. The moment generated a brief reaction from a packed crowd at Cox Pavilion.
Terryโs message: โWe gotta pick it up. We gotta go out with respect before anything. Weโre all men. Weโre grown men and we have to go out here with respect. It doesnโt matter how much we lose by. We could lose by 1,000 points. Weโve got to go out with respect. That was my biggest thing. I feel like our bench energy was low, and that was my way of getting them going. After that, we had a spark in the second half.โ
Added Terry: โAt Arizona, my job was the same thing. My job was to be out on the court and make sure our bench was involved. So when (Justin Wright-Foreman) said, โDT, letโs go,โ I said โYโall come on, too. Weโre all in this together. Even if youโre not in the game, youโre in the game still.โโ
Bulls Summer League head coach Johnny Bryant admired Terryโs emotions pouring out in that particular moment.
โThe one thing we talk about, youโre either giving energy or taking energy,โ Bryant said. โAt that moment, Dalen was speaking to the bench. โฆ Weโre encouraging everyone to fight together.โ
The following sequence, Terry, who finished the game with 13 points on 3-for-7 shooting and three assists, threw a bad pass โ one of his seven turnovers โ that was stolen by New Yorkโs Miles McBride, who passed it to Feron Hunt for a transition layup. Terry hustled back to redeem his error, but was called for a flagrant one foul.
Terry was asked by a reporter during his postgame availability, โWas that a period of frustration for you?โ
โNo, I didnโt let him score. He didnโt score, right? All right. He scored on a free throw, he earned it. The way I grew up, you turn the ball over, you gotta get back and get a stop,โ Terry said.
โCoach said no layups, you feel me? If we were up, I wouldnโt let him get the layup either way. I was trying to block it and I couldnโt jump. I was in a situation where I couldnโt jump. No layups. You gotta earn them at the (free-throw) line.โ
Did Terry lose control? Let emotions get the best of him?
โIt seems from the outside in, maybe (he lost control). But every young player has to go through it, and learn what it takes to play at a consistent level and play at both ends and not lose your cool at both ends,โ Bryant said. โThis is Game Two of his short-lived NBA career, and weโre not done with him yet.โ
Terry was also called for an offensive charge on Sunday, his fourth of NBA Summer League.
โI didnโt agree with a lot of them, but they made it seem like I was strong,โ Terry joked. โI mean, itโs all good. Some of these you have to learn about.โ
Following the Bullsโ come-from-behind 100-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks to open Summer League on Friday, Terry was asked by longtime Bulls reporter Sam Smith, โHow come it looked like you didnโt want to shoot at all?โ Terryโs response: โI was playing basketball. Iโm not going to force anything. Iโm a basketball player. The way I play, I donโt have to score 30 points to affect the game.โ
With identical field-goal statistics, the cocksure Terry was once again asked about his approach against the Knicks.
โItโs a basketball game, so everything is different,โ he said. โLike you said last time, I wasnโt shooting. What did I do this time? I shot, right? All right then.โ
Citing New Yorkโs physicality and actual NBA experience on the roster, including guard Quentin Grimes and center Jericho Sims, Bryant preached staying even-keeled against the Knicks.
โAdversity is going to come, so how will we respond? Specifically before the game, we talked about, โWith adversity, will we take it as a sign or take it as a test? The sign? Shotโs not falling, refs are against me, weโre turning the ball over โ you come up with every excuse.โ We also talked about taking it as a test. โWill you fight through?โ It looked like we took it as a sign today.โ
Terry and the Bulls are hopeful theyโll shrug off their sophomore slump at NBA Summer League, as they face Terryโs Arizona teammate Christian Koloko and the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday at 2 p.m. on NBA TV.
โIt was another basketball game. The other team, they punched us in the mouth early and we responded late, but Iโm proud of my teammates and how we handled it,โ Terry said. โWe went out with a little more respect than we did at the end of the first half.
โBut we got punched in the mouth in the first half, and respect to the New York Knicks. โฆ My biggest thing is, we didnโt have any energy in the first half. Thatโs on me. Iโm one of the leaders on the team, so I take full responsibility.โ
He said it
โI like a lot out of him. I think itโs his ability to score and get shots off at any time and create shots at any time. Thatโs a hard skill to learn, and he has that already. We have to find ways to use that to our advantage and figure out where he can pick his spots. I really like that about him, and his physicality. We saw that tonight, when he puts his head down and gets to the rim, not a lot of people can stop him. โฆ
โWe try to let him flow as much as possible and now slow him down. The thing we have to teach, we have to let him be himself and understand where the reads are, when to score, when to kick it out. We spend a lot of time on that in film, and heโs doing a pretty good job picking that up.โ โ Indiana Pacers Summer League head coach Ronald Nored, on former Arizona guard and No. 6 overall pick Bennedict Mathurin who finished with 15 points and three rebounds in the Pacersโ 103-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings
The big number
6 โ Consecutive games Mathurin and Terry won in Las Vegas, before their respective teams lost on Sunday. Between the Roman Main Event, the Pac-12 Tournament and the first games of NBA Summer League, the duo won six straight prior to Sunday.
Koloko is 7-0 in Las Vegas dating back to his freshman season at Arizona, when the Wildcats won the first game of the Pac-12 Tournament against Washington, before the pandemic canceled the remainder of the season.
Repping the alma mater
Former Arizona star Luke Walton was spotted wearing a navy blue Arizona hat at Cox Pavilion during the Cavaliersโ 84-76 loss to the Nuggets.
Walton, who is entering his eighth season coaching in the NBA, was hired in May as an assistant on J.B. Bickerstaffโs staff in Cleveland. Walton finished his NBA-playing career with the Cavs in 2013.
R.J. the ref
After attending a series of NBA Summer League officiating meetings, ex-Wildcat and NBA personality Richard Jefferson temporarily exchanged a microphone for a whistle.
Jefferson helped officiate the second quarter of the Trail Blazers-Knicks game on Monday. Jeffersonโs Arizona teammate Gilbert Arenas told the Star, โHeโs going to be a really good ref, because heโs sarcastic enough to go at the players without getting into their attitude and giving a player a (technical foul).โ
โIt would be very hard to get a tech from a personality like R.J. He would rather just talk (expletive) to you versus taking it personal and trying to get you out of the game,โ Arenas said. โBut it is the Knicks, and R.J. is petty. Heโs going to take it seriously and try to be as fair as possible, but itโs still the Knicks.โ
Hours before the game, Jefferson tweeted: โWhy do this? One: Tremendous amount of knowledge about our game that Iโve learned sitting in classes with the best refs in the world. Two: I do this because not many people would dare put themselves in this position. The more info I have the more informed I am as a broadcaster.โ
