LAS VEGAS — The Clippers waived Jordan Miller on Tuesday, but they still had a summer league roster spot available so he is on their team and clearly plans to make the most of the opportunity.
Miller had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Clippers outlasted the Houston Rockets, 95-92, in the NBA Summer League opener for both teams on Friday night at Cox Pavilion.
Miller, who can use these games as an opportunity to show the Clippers and the rest of the league what he has to offer, shot 7 for 18 from the field (2 for 7 from 3-point range) to go with two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 34 minutes.
Cam Christie had 21 points and six rebounds while shooting 6 for 12 from the field (3 for 9 from 3-point range), while Kobe Brown had 14 points and Trentyn Flowers added 13 points and six rebounds.
Brown got off to a strong start but was in the locker room with an ankle injury well before the game ended. He got tangled with a Rockets defender in the third quarter, and the player fell on his right ankle. Brown limped to the locker room a few minutes later and did not return with what team officials told reporters was a right ankle contusion.
Brown, the 30th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, scored 10 of his points in the first quarter, shooting 4 for 5 from the field (2 for 2 from 3-point range). He added four rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes before departing.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser, the Clippers’ first-round draft pick last month, had just one point but grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked four shots and had two steals in 26 minutes. The 6-foot-11 center from Penn State shot 0 for 4 from the field.
Second-round pick Kobe Sanders (Nevada) had 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting in 14 minutes.
Reed Sheppard paced the Rockets with 28 points on 10-of-25 shooting (6 for 15 from behind the arc) to go with eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks, while Kennedy Chandler added 22 points and five rebounds.