Jerrick Harding continues to impress at NBA Summer League
Wade Vandervort, Las Vegas Sun via AP
Dallas Mavericks guard Jerrick Harding (19) stands during an NBA summer league game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, July 8, 2022, in Las Vegas.Weber State men’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer didn’t stop after a great outing against the Utah Jazz on Monday at NBA Summer League.
Jerrick Harding has continued to impress for the Dallas Mavericks in Las Vegas, taking advantage of his first NBA-related look since graduating from Weber State in 2020. Harding led his team in scoring Tuesday against the Suns and again played well Thursday against the Bucks.
The Suns burnt the Mavs by 27 points Tuesday, but not with Harding on the court. The left-handed guard totaled 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes off the bench, shooting 7 of 13 from the field, 3 of 6 from the 3-point line and 3 of 3 from the foul line.
Harding was minus-6 in the plus-minus ledger, a good number considering the blowout loss and considering that two Dallas starters were minus -29.
Harding’s teammate Kur Kuath, an alum of Kearns High School, scored two points and grabbed seven rebounds in 13 minutes.
Thursday, Harding scored seven points in 11 first-half minutes, posting a plus-15 in what was a tie game at halftime. He nabbed a steal and banked in a floating 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer.
JERRICK HARDING PICKS OFF THE PASS AND BEATS THE BUZZER ???? pic.twitter.com/gyRBw1AIMG
— NBA (@NBA) July 15, 2022
Harding didn’t touch the ball an awful lot from there until the midway point of the fourth quarter, after which he scored nine points in the game’s final 5:38.
He dropped home a floater in the paint, hit a 3-pointer in semi-transition, converted a transition layup, assisted Moses Wright on a pick-and-roll dunk, and put home a contested right-handed scoop shot on a drive against a switching big man to help make what was a 17-point deficit into a five-point game in the final minute.
The Bucks ultimately won 100-89. Harding finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding five assists and totaling a plus-13 mark in 24 minutes.
In his last three games, Harding is averaging 18 points, four assists and 2.3 rebounds per game, shooting 22 of 37 (59.5%) overall, 6 of 13 (46.2%) from the 3-point line and 4 of 5 (80%) from the foul line.