Wizards vs. Grizzlies final score: Washington falls in Summer League opener 91-88

Wayne Selden hit an and-one jumper with 2.3 seconds left to hand the Wizards a 91-88 loss in their Las Vegas Summer League opener.

Selden’s shot helped fend off a late charge by the Wizards, who overcame a 16 point third quarter deficit to take a lead late in the fourth quarter. They had a three point lead with 52 seconds left, but Selden came through in the closing seconds, scoring the final six to help the Grizzlies secure the win. He finished with 28 points.

Washington will return to action on Monday as they take on the Heat at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Game Notes

Daniel Ochefu holds it down

The second year man out of Villanova didn’t do anything spectacular, but he played well within his role as a low-usage, screen-setting big man who can patrol the paint. He finished with 5 blocks, he was active on the glass with 4 offensive rebounds, and finished with 13 points, thanks in large part to going a perfect 7-7 from the line.

He definitely needs to cut down on his fouling (he had 7 fouls in 30 minutes of action) but all in all, he was probably the best Wizard on the floor who has a contract with the team for next season. You can make a decent living in this world as a tall guy who plays hard and stays within himself.

Jared Cunningham lights it up off the bench

Cunningham was the most experienced player on the Wizards who got playing time in this game, and he played like it throughout the game. He finished with 26 points in just 19 minutes on 12 shots.

Unfortunately, he’s at that tough spot where he’s a little too good to be playing in the Summer League, but just isn’t good enough to hang in the NBA. If nothing else, his performance should help him get another good contract overseas this season (he has too many years of service time in the NBA to sign a two-way deal). In the meantime, it’s good to have his shotmaking ability to lighten the burden on the rest of the squad, and keep games competitive.

Rough start for Michael Young

Young, who the Wizards signed to a two-way deal earlier this week, did not have a great debut. He got off five shots in the early going and missed all of them, some of them very badly. He calmed down as the game wore on, and showed some nice flashes in the fourth quarter as the Wizards made their comeback, including this nice block:

He finished with 10 points on 13 shots, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. It will be interesting to see how he performs Monday now that he has the jitters out of his system.

It wasn’t Easy, Mac

Sheldon Mac committed the foul on Wayne Selden’s game-winning shot, and missed a three at the buzzer that could have forced overtime. It was the culmination of a rough game for Mac, where he went 2-9 from the field and struggled against Selden defensively.

Chris Miller of CSN Mid-Atlantic reported during the game that Mac was limited by ankle injury throughout mini camp, which could explain a lot of his struggles during the game. Hopefully having a day off before the Wizards’ next game will help Mac get back into form for the rest of Summer League.