Former Washington State forward Isaac Jones scores 17 points, helps Sacramento improve to 4-0 at Summer League

LAS VEGAS – Isaac Jones wore a protective face mask in Sacramento’s NBA Summer League opener last Thursday, but quickly became irritated with how it impacted his vision and removed the accessory by the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic.

It would have come in handy Wednesday afternoon during a physical Summer League game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jones took three shots to the head area from Cleveland players, but played through the contact to deliver 17 points and three rebounds in a 94-86 victory that strengthened Sacramento’s chances of earning a spot in the Summer League semifinals.

“That was unlucky, three times in one game is kind of wild,” Jones said. “But I’m good, I’m good. … I can’t really see with the mask, so took some hits but I’ll be all right.”

Jones and the Kings are rolling at Summer League, improving their record to 4-0 with Wednesday’s result.

As one of eight teams to enter Wednesday with an unbeaten record, the Kings are in position to possibly earn a berth to Saturday’s semifinal. Summer League’s first tiebreaker is head-to-head, but with teams only playing four times, it’s likely the event will have to use point margin to fill its semifinal slots.

Sacramento sits at No. 4 in that category, with a margin of plus-11.5 after Wednesday’s eight-point win.

“I think we’re really special, one through 15, we can all impact the game, especially defensively,” Jones said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best still. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds. I think if we had that under control, we probably would’ve won the game by a lot more. They had a lot of second-chance points, but besides that I love this team, love what we’re doing and I think it’s special.”

Jones accounted for a large portion of Sacramento’s offensive production in the first quarter, making 4 of 5 shots from the field to score nine of the team’s 25 points in the quarter.

The former Washington State Cougar was the first Sacramento player to reach double figures and led the Kings in first-half scoring with 14 points, making six of his first eight looks from the field.

Jones, who spent one season each at Idaho and WSU before signing a two-way contract with Sacramento last June, had success driving to the basket and finishing through contact.

The 6-foot-9 big man also ran the floor in transition, accounting for a handful of the Kings’ 18 fastbreak points.

“That’s the huge part I keep telling him, if he didn’t get the rebound just run,” Kings Summer League coach Dipesh Mistry said. “You’re a big target, so if we hit you, it’s going to be very difficult for guys to stop at the rim because most of the time it’s a guard getting back, it’s not a big, right? So it’s like a 6-8 versus a 6-5 guy. So I think that’s where his advantage is.”

Jones has had stints playing the power forward position in addition to his more traditional center role. In the noncenter minutes, Jones has had to get more comfortable sprinting to the corners during fastbreak opportunities, rather than running to the rim.

“It’s kind of hard sometimes because I like dunking, so the first thing I think of is, ‘Man, I need to get on that rim,’ ” Jones said. “But it’s cool because when I do my job and sprint to the corner. It opens up the game for everybody. So I’m getting used to it and I’m still trying to figure out how to be effective with it and I think today I was.”

Jones, who made 40 appearances for the Kings as a rookie, is averaging 12.5 points and 5.8 rebounds through four Summer League games.

Other locals …

•Twenty-four hours after Drew Timme scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 31 minutes against former Gonzaga teammate Anton Watson, the Brooklyn Nets rested the forward in a 94-90 win over the Orlando Magic. It’s unclear if the Nets will shut down Timme for the remainder of Summer League or intend to activate him for the team’s fifth game on Friday against Philadelphia.

•Ryan Nembhard was also in street clothes on Wednesday, sitting on Dallas’ bench during a 90-82 loss to the 76ers. Gonzaga teammate Nolan Hickman was scoreless in 9 minutes off the Mavericks’ bench, totaling three turnovers, two assists and one rebound. Hunter Sallis, who spent two years at Gonzaga with Hickman, finished with nine points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and had five rebounds and one turnover.

•The Phoenix Suns elected not to play former Gonzaga guard Khalif Battle in the team’s 89-85 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was Battle’s first “DNP” at Summer League.