Former Washington State standout Jaylen Wells scores 28 points, sends Memphis to Summer League finale

Jaylen Wells took it upon himself to make sure the Memphis Grizzlies got at least one more day at Las Vegas Summer League.

Wells, whose NBA Summer League experience started with a slate of games in Salt Lake City before traveling to Las Vegas, will be among the final group of players competing at the Thomas & Mack Center Monday after the former Washington State guard delivered a game-high 28 points while leading the Grizzlies to a 99-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in a semifinal on Sunday.

Memphis will now take on Miami for the Vegas Summer League championship at 5 p.m. Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center. The game will air live on ESPN.

Wells already owned some of the top moments of Summer League when he scored 27 points and knocked down the game-winning shot to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Salt Lake on July 9.

The 39th overall pick might have topped that with Sunday’s performance in a loser-out game in Vegas, where Wells finished 9 of 12 from the field, made a Summer League-high 6 of 7 shots from the 3-point line and didn’t miss any of his four attempts from the free -throw line.

“Every game, I know we’ve talked about it after games, you just see him getting more comfortable,” Grizzlies coach Jason Marsh said of Wells. “He’s starting to feel his spots on the floor and understand our running habits, where we want to get to. I’m so happy for him.

“In Salt Lake City we didn’t shoot good as a group, including him, and for him to get going today, huge for us and very happy for him. He puts in the work. It was awesome.”

Wells was a perfect 3 of 3 from the 3-point line, scoring nine of his 28 points in the game’s final 7 minutes, 37 seconds. The wing made a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies an 82-79 advantage and then connected again on the following possession to extend the lead to 85-81.

Wells also made a contested, step-back 3-pointer as the clock expired in the second quarter to give the Grizzlies a 54-49 halftime lead.

“He’s grown a lot, the way he’s been able to shoot the ball and move and do the little things that we need him to do has been great to see,” said Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr., who assisted on many of Wells’ shots and finished the game with a 23-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double.

Memphis improved to 5-0 at Vegas Summer League despite playing Sunday without two other draft selections, ninth overall pick Zach Edey (Purdue) and 53rd pick Cam Spencer (UConn), who were sidelined with minor injuries. Jake LaRavia, a former first-round pick who’s played 70 career games in the NBA, also missed Sunday’s game with an ankle injury.

Watson, Tillie start for Boston

Former Gonzaga teammates Anton Watson and Killian Tillie were on the floor together when Boston’s final Summer League game tipped off Sunday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.

Watson closed out his first Summer League with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, making 6 of 12 shots from the field, 2 of 5 from the 3-point line and 1 of 1 from the free throw line in 27 minutes during the team’s 103-98 loss to Philadelphia.

Tillie, who started alongside Watson in Boston’s final three Summer League games, made 3 of 5 shots from the field and went 1 of 2 from the 3-point line to finish with seven points. Tillie also had six rebounds, one assist and one steal in 21 minutes.