NBA Summer League: Brandon Clarke powers Memphis to the finals

Brandon Clarke scored the go ahead points the only way he knows how, with an emphatic dunk, to help power the Memphis Grizzlies over the New Orleans Pelicans, 88-86. The Grizzlies will play the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Summer League Championship tonight.

For the second-straight game, Clarke finished with a double-double, registering 23 points and 14 rebounds. He did it the way Gonzaga fans came to love, with ruthless efficiency, hitting 7-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Oh yeah, and he did this.

None of this should really come as much of a surprise. Throughout the college season, Clarke was one of the top players not named Zion Williamson. The Summer League exists as that sort of middle ground for the NBA—lots of talented players, but not quite the full leap into the NBA.

If there were any questions about Clarke’s potential, however, he has destroyed them in the Summer League.

He has picked off exactly where he left off. His PER is the highest out of all players (sorry injured Zion) over the past couple of weeks.

And he is doing all of this without his elite point guard, fellow draftee Ja Morant. Clarke is averaging 14.6 points. 8.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in just 21.4 minutes of play. That is why the Grizzlies’ season continues.

You can watch the Grizzlies take on the Timberwolves for the championship at 6:00 pm PT, on ESPN2.