Game three for the Minnesota Timberwolves and former Illini Terrence Shannon’s summer league run took place on Tuesday evening against Jared McCain and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. After scoring 25 points and 19 points in his first two games, expectations for Shannon on offense were high. However, the rookie did not crack double digits, scoring just nine points.
Shannon got out in transition early, scoring his first points of the night just over two minutes into the game off of a running layup. A minute later, he turned the ball over by stepping out of bounds and was subbed out 15 seconds later. Shannon returned to the game with under three minutes remaining in the first quarter but did not score again.
Almost immediately after the second quarter started, Shannon grabbed an offensive rebound and went for a putback layup, missing the attempt but drawing a foul. He hit both free throws and then knocked down a corner three a few minutes later, which gave him seven points on the night. At halftime, the Timberwolves trailed the 76ers by two, 46-48.
For his first major play in the second half, Shannon grabbed a rebound and got out in transition again. He quickly pushed the ball up the floor before passing it to Daishen Nix by the basket, who immediately dropped it off to a cutting Leonard Miller for a layup. However, that was the extent of Shannon’s impact on the offensive end during the third quarter, as the 6-foot-6 guard went scoreless.
In the fourth quarter, Shannon’s first shot attempt was a quickly-released corner three, but it didn’t fall. After Sunday’s win, Shannon talked about how he wanted to be more shot-ready, and it was apparent that he was making an effort to do that, despite missing the attempt.
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Moments later, Shannon took a running jumper off one leg from the right elbow but missed. However, he followed his shot, got his second offensive rebound of the evening, and laid in a putback for his first and only points of the second half. The game came down to the wire, but when the final buzzer sounded, the Timberwolves fell to the 76ers 90-92. Shannon finished with nine points.
“The flow of the game was hard because of the zone,” said Minnesota Summer League head coach Chris Hines after the game. “But overall I think he (Shannon) played really well on the defensive end, he was really good for us. He’s a tough kid, and so he’ll bounce back.”
Shannon and the Timberwolves are next scheduled to play on Thursday against the Houston Rockets at 10 p.m. CT.
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