LAS VEGAS — While Cooper Flagg and Bronny James faced off in a packed arena on the campus of UNLV, the Nuggets and Bucks played a Summer League thriller in the sleepy gymnasium adjacent to the main event.
Former Ohio State star EJ Liddell gave Denver the lead with 5.1 seconds left on a put-back slam after Hunter Tyson and DaRon Holmes II missed jump shots, but Milwaukee’s Jamaree Bouyea answered with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to hand the Nuggets a 90-89 loss on Thursday night.
The dramatic loss tipped off Summer League play for Denver, which faces the Timberwolves on Saturday at Cox Pavilion.
Holmes’ return
As expected, the Nuggets used lineups with Holmes operating as both a four and five. He mostly floated around the floor early in the game, regaining his footing and not getting too involved in the action offensively. But his first touch was a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the left wing against a close-out, setting a confident tone.
Holmes steadily grew more comfortable throughout the night. He tested his physicality by picking up a flagrant foul (and almost a second one). He tried to put the ball on the floor more in the second half. After he drained another above-the-break 3 by trailing the play in transition, he had established some respect from the wings. The next time he picked and popped, he attacked the close-out for a driving layup, looking smooth after leaving his feet.
Holmes wasn’t challenged too much at the defensive end when he switched, but the Nuggets clearly have interest in evaluating his ability to guard smaller players in space. He tacked on an impressive block during the second half of a team-leading 15-point night.
Tyson’s rebounding
Nuggets Summer League coach Andrew Munson said early this week that rebounding would be an emphasis for Hunter Tyson in Las Vegas. The third-year wing delivered on that expectation Thursday with 11 boards en route to a double-double.
Tyson’s 3-point stroke still seems out of sync. He clanked a few spot-up attempts in rhythm. On the other hand, he also buried a step-back triple in the corner at one point.
The Nuggets need him to showcase his off-the-catch ability more than anything else, but if he can score in other ways to gain confidence, they’ll take that as well. On one of the first possessions of the night, he scored out of a post-up, demonstrating his talent for playing bigger than his size. He also turned a driving euro-step into an and-one. That’s the type of stuff that he won’t have opportunities to do at the NBA level, but it never hurts to show off he can do it.
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Spencer Jones is the Nuggets’ only two-way player from last season who’s back on the roster this year. From an up-close vantage point, his athleticism and length stood out next to the other Summer League dreamers on Thursday.
His defensive mobility on the wing could make a difference for Denver in regular-season games in 2024-25.
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