Keegan Murray wrapped up his second summer league with a casual 40-burger on Wednesday night.
A 41-burger, to be precise.
It was a performance inspired by a pregame request from Kings summer league coach Luke Loucks.
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“I challenged him before the game in front of the team and said, ‘This is your last summer league game,’" Loucks said Wednesday night. "'I know it may not seem like a big deal, but it should be a big deal. It’s the last time you get to play in summer league, and it’s the last time you’ll play in a real game until next season.'
“Obviously, he took it and ran with it.”
In a team-high 31 minutes, Murray went off for 41 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 shooting from deep to lead the Kings to a 95-83 victory over the Miami Heat at Golden 1 Center.
He controlled the game from start to finish, flashing the level of playmaking the Kings want him to unleash in his second NBA season. Murray ran the floor coast-to-coast at times. He blocked shots at the rim. He showed the ability to create shots for himself, including a smooth step-back 3-pointer late in the first quarter that found its way on the highlight reel.
NBA
Murray, who was named the 2022 NBA Summer League MVP entering his rookie season, dropped 29 points on the Warriors on Monday night and another 41 points Wednesday. Loucks confirmed after the game that Murray will not be playing any summer league games with Sacramento in Las Vegas.
Not a bad way to go out.
"It’s just unreal playing with him and seeing him shoot, you feel like it’s going in every time," Kings second-round pick Colby Jones said after the game. "That’s just the skill level of the NBA. Playing with someone like that helps the other guys to know what that skill level is.
"It’s been great playing with him."