Takeaways: Cam Whitmore raises Rockets past Jazz and into NBA’s 2023 summer-league title videogame

After novice Amen Thompson (left ankle sprain) and second-year forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason (rest) were ruled out for the rest of the NBA’s 2023 summertime league, lotsof experts presumed the rest of the Houston Rockets wouldn’t be as powerful.

That reasoning might have undervalued Houston’s supporting cast, . Led by novice Cam Whitmore and two-way gamers Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins, the summerseason Rockets are now 5-0 and in Monday’s champion videogame courtesy of Sunday’s 115-101 win (box rating) over Utah (4-1) in the summer-league semifinals.

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Whitmore had 25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 helps, and 2 obstructed shots in Sunday’s videogame on 9-of-17 shooting (52.9%), consistingof 4-of-11 on 3-tips (36.4%). That was enough to exceed a Utah group led by Micah Potter, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds however on simply 8-of-22 shooting (36.4%) and 4-of-17 on 3-guidelines (23.5%).

Other Houston gamers to rating in double figures consistedof:

• Nate Hinton: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 takes; 9-of-16 shooting (56.3%), 4-of-9 on 3-tips (44.4%)
• Jermaine Samuels Jr.: 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 helps; 5-of-14 shooting (35.7%), 1-of-5 on 3-tips (20.0%)
• Trevor Hudgins: 16 points, 9 helps, 5 rebounds; 6-of-13 shooting (46.2%), 4-of-9 on 3-tips (44.4%)
• Fletcher Magee: 21 points, 5 rebounds; 4-of-7 shooting (57.1%), 3-of-4 on 3-guidelines (75.0%), 10-of-10 on totallyfree tosses

Read on for highlights, postgame interviews with gamers and coaches, and response by fans and media members to Sunday’s videogame. In Monday’s last, the Rockets will satisfy the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are likewise a ideal 5-0 in summer-league play to date.