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Las Vegas Summer League: 3 lessons from the Cleveland Cavaliers overtime thriller

By Jackson Flickinger

Cleveland Cavaliers Collin Sexton (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers Collin Sexton (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 15: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket against Chris Boucher #25 of the Toronto Raptors during a quarterfinal game of the 2018 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 15, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cavaliers defeated the Raptors 82-68. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 15: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket against Chris Boucher #25 of the Toronto Raptors during a quarterfinal game of the 2018 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 15, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cavaliers defeated the Raptors 82-68. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League run comes to an end with a 112-109 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the semi-finals.

This was one of the most exciting Summer League games in recent memories. Both teams left it all on the floor with playoff-like intensity. Although at the end of the day, it will be the Cleveland Cavaliers packing their bags.

Collin Sexton didn’t go down without a fight. He hit a game-tying three in the final 30 seconds of regulation then locked down Josh Hart on the other end to send it into overtime. Sexton had a chance to win it in the first overtime at the free throw line, but he split the pair sending it to double overtime.

In the end, the rookie finished with 27 points on nine of 22 shooting.

The Lakers just had a little more experience to close the game down the stretch. Josh Hart, who started 23 games for the Lakers last season, led them to victory with 37 points.

The Summer League team fought hard until the end and that’s all you can really ask for. Here’s what we learned from the loss.

Lesson No. 1: Collin Sexton is a competitor.

Fierce competitiveness is one of the most enduring traits in a player. That competitiveness or “Mamba Mentality” is part of the reason why throngs of fans drawn to players like Kobe Bryant or Russell Westbrook.

For better or worse, Sexton has that same mentality on the court.

Sexton is a competitor that doesn’t back down from big moments. He lives for them, even if it’s just in Summer League.

The game looked out of reach for the Cavs as they were down three with under 30 seconds to play in regulation, but Sexton stepped up and hit the clutch shot three to tie the game.

He then showed that competitiveness by flexing on Josh Hart just before locking down Hart who missed what would’ve been the game winning three.

Sexton has that killer instinct. That me against the world mentality. Whether or not that’s necessarily a good thing is debatable.

Sexton has shown that he has skills and plenty of competitiveness to go along with it, but he’s far from a finished product. However, it won’t take him long to endear himself to Cleveland if he plays with this kind of emotion and passion all the time.