Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Jared McCain lead Sixers to NBA Summer League victory over Timberwolves
With the game on the line, Dowtin scored five of the Sixers’ final seven points to pull out the two-point victory. “Jeff’s a gamer,” said summer league coach Mike Brass.
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LAS VEGAS — Jeff Dowtin Jr. was asked to be the vocal leader of the 76ers summer-league team. And it’s a role the 27-year-old embraces.
“Communicate, try to lead these guys [and] give them as much advice as possible,” Dowtin said. “Obviously, I’ve been through summer league a couple of times now. Just try to give them any type of advice, feedback that they need.
“Like I said, be a leader, be a point guard, be vocal, get others involved and make sure everybody flows smoothly.”
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Three years of NBA experience has done that and more for Dowtin.
He finished with 17 points, three assists, and one steal in Tuesday night’s NBA Summer League victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 92-90, at Cox Pavilion.
His backcourt mate Jared McCain finished with a team-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds and a steal. The 16th pick in last month’s NBA draft made 5-of-16 shots — including 2-of-8 three-pointers.
Ricky Council IV added 13 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, while Adem Bona added 10 points, nine rebounds, and one block.
The Sixers (2-1) built a commanding, 76-60, lead with a 21-6 run to end the third quarter. The Timberwolves battled back to take an 86-85 lead on Daishen Nix’s free throw with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
Dowtin scored consecutive layups to give the Sixers an 89-86 lead. After the Timberwolves pulled within one point, Rob Dillingham was called for an offensive foul with 9.4 seconds remaining.
After exchanging free throws, the Sixers clung to a 91-90 cushion before Dowtin stepped to the foul line with 5 seconds left. He split the pair, leading to a last-second opportunity for Minnesota.
However, the Sixers escaped after the Timberwolves failed to attempt a shot.
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Dowtin missed his first seven shots en route to shooting 6-for-17 — including 1 of 5 from beyond the three-point line. But with the game on the line, he scored five of the Sixers’ final seven points to pull out the victory.
“Jeff’s a gamer,” said assistant coach Matt Brase, who’s serving as the summer-league coach. “I thought a lot this year in Delaware [with the Blue Coats], he was a gamer. The fourth quarter, that’s Jeff’s time right there to lead us and make the right plays, whether it’s him scoring, whether it’s in a roller or kick out.
“He’s a guy, like you mentioned, he went 0-for-7, but as a coach, it’s like [you know] he’s going to bounce back from that. He’s going to be just fine. He’s strong minded.”
The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder entered Tuesday’s game ranked third in the summer league in assists at eight per game. The Washington, D.C. native also averaged 17.5 points and 4.5 rebounds.
At last week’s Salt Lake City summer league, Dowtin averaged 17 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 50% on three-pointers.
All this comes several weeks after the Sixers declined to pick up his team option for the 2024-25 season. As a result, he’s an unrestricted free agent ahead of next season.
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He first joined the team on a two-way contract on March 2. That contract was converted to a standard deal on April 4. One would think Dowtin might have second thoughts about being asked to lead Sixers league squad under the circumstance.
But he said being a member of the Sixers summer league provides him an opportunity to showcase what he’s been working on this offseason. He was originally set to only play for the Sixers in the SLC.
“I love playing basketball,” Dowtin said. “I definitely wasn’t going to turn down playing summer league, regardless. So I think being able to come out here and showcase and being able to play with this great group of guys and great coaching staff, showcase my talents and try to build off everything that we’ve been working on over the summer, and implement that here has kind of been my main focus.”