Former Mizzou star Tamar Bates made an impression in his second Summer League game, as he and the Denver Nuggets fell 94-83 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

Bates finished with 13 points, one rebound and two assists on 6-for-16 shooting from the field.

After missing his first three shots of the game, Bates scored a pull-up, mid-range jump shot to trim the Timberwolves lead to 15-11 with 4:12 left in the first quarter.

Bates’ two baskets in the second quarter came from inside the paint with two layups. The first trimmed Minnesota’s lead to 27-22 with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter, while the second cut the advantage to 33-24 with 6:56 left.

In the third quarter, the Kansas City, Kansas, product maintained his paint success, cashing in a layup with 3:51 remaining and an and-1 hook finish with 2:57 left. The former trimmed the Timberwolves’ lead to 65-51, while the latter cut it to 66-54 after the made free throw.

Bates’ final basket was a floater outside of the painted area with 3:05 remaining in the final frame to trail 87-74.

Sacramento Kings 109, Chicago Bulls 92: Ex-Tigers standout Caleb Grill tallied eight points, three rebounds and three steals off the bench despite the Bulls’ loss to the Kings.

The SEC Sixth Man of the Year shot 3 for 7 from the field and 2 for 6 from 3-point range.

Grill got on the board with a pull-up, mid-range jump shot to cut Sacramento’s lead to 69-63 with 2:46 remaining in the third quarter. He then sank a 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 72-66 with 2:10 left.

Grill’s final basket was a left-wing 3-pointer with 4:39 remaining in the fourth quarter to trim the Kings’ lead to 98-84.

Los Angeles Lakers 94, New Orleans Pelicans 81: Former MU guard DaJuan Gordon played a role in the Lakers’ win over the Pelicans, recording three points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Gordon — who played for the Tigers during the 2021-22 season — shot 1 for 6 from the field and 1 for 3 from beyond the arc.

Gordon scored his lone basket with 5:56 left in the third quarter, drilling a 3 from the left corner. The shot gave Los Angeles a 32-31 lead over New Orleans.

Charlotte Hornets 96, Philadelphia 76ers 94: Former Rock Bridge star Dajuan Harris did not play due to coach’s decision in the Hornets’ win over the 76ers at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Up next

Sunday’s action includes DeMarre Carroll leading the Suns against the Atlanta Hawks at 2:30 p.m. on NBATV, Kobe Brown and the Los Angeles Clippers taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at 8:30 p.m. on NBATV and John Tonje and the Utah Jazz matching up with the Golden State Warriors at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.