Kayce knew he had to clock in for another quarter, and in the remaining minute, he directly accelerated and quickened the offensive pace.
Transitioning from defense to offense, he quickly crossed half-court, set a pick-and-roll, then executed a step-back, leaning slightly back, and released a 3-pointer.
"Swish!" The ball went through the net without touching the rim. From the left side of the three-point line, Kayce's sweet spot, he enjoyed the bonus from the [Hot Zone Hunter] badge.
The Clippers' offense was also fast. Without Griffin, basically anyone could shoot. If they had an opportunity, they would just throw it up. The guard also used a pick-and-roll and shot directly.
"Clang!" Another missed shot. Kayce grabbed the long rebound and immediately initiated a fast break.
He dribbled behind his back, getting past a Clippers defender who tried to steal the ball, then, facing the defense, he executed a behind-the-back wrap-around layup, scoring the ball with flair.
"Wow, I feel like I'm watching Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs! Kayce's shot was amazing!" The commentator shouted excitedly.
This was Kayce's two-handed ball-handling ability, honed through over 5 years of efficient training in the Dream Training Space system, constantly optimizing and improving his basketball skills. After becoming a point guard, his abilities were fully unleashed.
The Clippers' offense was still isolated plays. After a rare breakthrough and pass, an inside player received the ball and was about to rise when Kayce forcefully stripped the ball away, stealing it without stopping, and immediately passed it to a fast-breaking teammate.
"Bang, swish…" The bank shot went in.
In that minute, the Thunder, led by Kayce, went on a scoring run. In the last 20 seconds, the Clippers had their final possession. Facing a Thunder team with greatly increased defensive intensity, they were forced to take a buzzer-beater shot.
"Clang!" As expected, it was another miss.
The first quarter ended. Kayce scored 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in a single quarter, with a 100% shooting percentage. The Thunder led 36-24, a 12-point advantage.
Clippers' Griffin also played well, shooting 3-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, scoring 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. However, after he left the court, the team started playing haphazardly, and the Thunder pulled away.
In the second quarter, Kayce once again served as the hype man, waving his towel enthusiastically.
"The Thunder should increase Kayce's playing time. It was the same in the previous two games, and our audience is getting a bit unhappy!" This was something almost every commentator mentioned.
After all, the audience came to watch the Summer League for entertainment and to see the star players perform. But the Thunder only let Kayce play one quarter each game, making the tickets feel like a rip-off.
However, the audience for this game was relatively lucky because Griffin played for a long time, and his frequent powerful dunks relieved the live commentator, as a quarter of lackluster play is truly difficult to commentate on.
"A violent dunk! Look at the height of that dunk, his head is level with the rim! Griffin, go participate in the Slam Dunk Contest, I guarantee you'll win first place!" The commentator was already ignited by the dunk.
"Ah!!" The live audience also loved such games. Dunking was all that mattered; constant missed shots were not fun to watch.
Seeing Griffin play so hard, Kayce felt a tiny bit of shame inside. After all, his lazy performance really didn't do justice to the audience.
But then he thought, the one at fault is the Assistant Coach, it has nothing to do with him, and immediately felt relieved.
At halftime, the Clippers, relying on Griffin's dominant performance, successfully tied the score at 58-58. The Thunder couldn't hold on in the second quarter.
The second half began, and Griffin no longer played. Both teams' players went all out to boost their stats for contracts, and the game was very intense, as one contract could support a family.
Ultimately, the Clippers prevailed, defeating the Thunder 108-100. The audience enjoyed the game, and the players were happy with their stats.
"Want to go out and have some fun tonight?" Kayce asked Griffin playfully.
"I guess not. I also need to perform well, after all, Coach Ben is here." Griffin shrugged. It seemed that after the daytime gathering, everyone had started to cherish their opportunities to perform.
Despite the loss, the atmosphere on the Thunder's side remained good. After all, this was just the Summer League, and the players were actually more concerned with their own performance and statistics.
"Get some good rest, Kayce. Brooks said he might reduce your playing time further. He's regretting letting you play in the Summer League."
Back at the hotel, the Assistant Coach said to Kayce with a smile.
"I have no demands for playing time, Coach. You make the decision, and I will fully comply with the arrangements." Kayce expressed that he had no desires.
"Haha, get some good rest. Consider this a vacation." The Assistant Coach smiled and patted Kayce's shoulder, implying that his subsequent games would definitely become easier and easier.
After a quick wash, Kayce immediately lay down on the big bed. Britney was preparing for graduate school recently and was busy studying, while Anne was in London, which meant he didn't have to juggle two tasks at night.
"Tonight, I can see if losing a game will generate an achievement badge." This was the answer Kayce urgently wanted to know.
After midnight, Kayce once again entered the Dream Training Space, called up the holographic projection of the control panel, and found a new prompt in the achievement room, immediately feeling relieved.
"It seems that losing won't affect achievement badges, which is indeed good news. Otherwise, if we lost too many regular season games, it would be a complete waste."
After entering the achievement room, Kayce looked at the new bronze achievement badge in front of him and directly stepped forward to touch it lightly.
Achievement Badge [Control Master]: 6/50
Enhances the player's ability to break down opposing defenders.
The new badge slightly strengthened Kayce's ball-handling ability, making it easier to dominate weaker opponents. However, when facing strong defenders, the bonus effect was practically nonexistent, as the badge level was too low.
Kayce was not discouraged. The Summer League level was not high enough, but getting badges was a gain! He clicked on the space music, and tonight's training had just begun.
Sure enough, in subsequent games, Kayce's playing time became less and less. In some games, Coach Ben simply let him make a brief appearance and then took him out. Seeing that the opponents were all G League players, Kayce also felt that such games held little meaning.
Kayce played the entire first quarter in games against the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia, and the Charlotte Hornets. For other teams, he basically only played for about 6 minutes before being substituted out. Health first, the Assistant Coach did not want any accidents.
The result of this slacking was that by the end of the Summer League on July 20th, only one achievement badge had been produced.
Achievement Badge [Ball Control Master]: 9/50
Reduces the chance of being stolen by defenders.
In summary, Kayce gained a total of four bronze achievement badges in this Summer League, all focused on playmaking and ball-handling abilities. Although this was somewhat lower than his pre-tournament expectations, the results were still good.
After bidding farewell to his good friends one by one, Kayce followed the Thunder out of Las Vegas and returned to Oklahoma City. Preparations for the new season were about to begin, and Kayce's own targeted training was officially put on the agenda.