Kris Dunn scores 27 in Timberwolves summer opener

The Timberwolves opened Las Vegas Summer League with an 88-82 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, but first-round pick Kris Dunn dazzled with 27 points in his unofficial debut.

The Wolves only played eight players in a game that they led by 11 points after the first quarter but lost each of the final three frames in dropping the opening game of Las Vegas Summer League.

Kris Dunn scored 27 points on 10-18 shooting, including 1-2 from beyond the arc and 6-10 from the free throw line. He tallied five rebounds and three steals but only managed two assists and committed seven personal fouls in 34 minutes. (Remember, players are allowed to commit up to 10 personal fouls before disqualification in summer league play.)

The Timberwolves started a back court with two point guards in Dunn and last year’s first-round selection Tyus Jones, along with third-year big man Adreian Payne and summer league pickups Xavier Silas and Jarrid Famous.

The three bench players to see the court were former New York Knicks point guard Toure Murry, last year’s D-League standout (and personal favorite) Coty Clarke, and Scott Suggs.

Let’s start our recap by acknowledging that the Wolves’ first bucket of summer league, and Dunn’s first bucket in a Wolves uniform (kind of) was the business end of an alley-oop…

Here’s the rest of our recap, in bullet-point format for your reading pleasure:

• Dunn was impressive overall. Shooting 10-of-18 was certainly a good first performance, and he even made a couple of tough jumpers, but the shot selection was shaky at times and there were at least three bad, near-air-ball misses. He did get into the paint and draw fouls seemingly at will, and overpowered Emmanel Mudiay more than once.
• Defensively, Dunn was dominant, using his length to corral the likes of Mudiay and Jamal Murray. Mudiay committed three turnovers, and the two Nuggets guards shot a combined 13-30 from the field. Dunn’s strength was impressive, and his overall ability fighting through and over screens fit perfectly with what Tom Thibodeau looks for in his point guards.
• Jones was solid overall. He shot just 4-11, but grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out four assists. He played off the ball for stretches, which clearly isn’t in his wheelhouse. In fact, Dunn looked comfortable catching-and-shooting — more so than Jones, at least.
• Payne was…exactly what you might expect. He was extremely active and played hard, but shot just 6-20 from the field en route to 17 points and five rebounds. Four of his rebounds were of the offensive variety, and largely stemming from in-close misses of his own, followed by put-backs. He is what he is — a high-energy, athletic big man with very little feel for the game.
• Of the other players, nobody really stood out. Murry was decent, and as a big point guard with NBA experience that’s to be expected in summer league. Clarke looked lethargic at times, and other than a couple nice takes on offense, he struggled on switches defensively and did not hit the glass hard at all. My stealth pick to make the roster is not off to a good start.

Also, this happened:

There’s more where that came from with Dunn, no doubt.

The Timberwolves have Saturday off, and their next game isn’t until Sunday evening. It will be televised on NBA TV, as will Monday’s game.

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