Arizona Wildcats in Las Vegas Summer League: Lauri Markkanen, Brandon Ashley shine on Day 2

It was a successful debut for the Finnish big man

Lauri Markkanen’s first time wearing a Chicago Bulls uniform didn’t exactly go as planned Saturday.

When the 7-footer pulled off his warmup shirt before his Las Vegas Summer League debut, the name on the back of his No. 24 jersey was misspelled.

“Markkenan,” it read.

It turns out Lauri “Markkenan” is pretty good, too.

The Finn scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds in the Bulls’ 91-75 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite being known for his shooting, Markkanen’s first two buckets were slam dunks.

Lauri Markkanen's first points as a pro (he had another dunk right after this) http://pic.twitter.com/MycRpOoMI1

— Ryan Kelapire (@RKelapire) July 8, 2017

In all, the former Arizona Wildcat shot 5 of 11 from the field, 2 of 5 from 3, and 2 of 3 from the free throw line in 33 minutes of play.

.@MarkkanenLauri making a name for himself in the first half vs. Dallas #NBASummerLeague http://pic.twitter.com/SHnrUIIfRq

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) July 8, 2017

Markkanen’s counterpart, fellow Wildcat Brandon Ashley, impressed, too.

Ashley scored a game-high 21 points in 20 minutes, shooting 9 of 15 from the field and 2 of 6 from 3. The forward grabbed two rebounds and made some impressive plays defensively.

As Markkanen and Ashley battled in out in the Thomas & Mack Center, Kobi Simmons made some dazzling plays across the hall at Cox Pavilion in his professional debut

The former UA guard had six points and four assists in 15 minutes as the Memphis Grizzlies squeaked past the Washington Wizards, 91-88. Simmons shot just 2 of 9 from the field, but awed the crowd with a couple dimes.

Nice dime by @JordanKobi in his pro debut http://pic.twitter.com/40UdEuYh3w

— Ryan Kelapire (@RKelapire) July 8, 2017

This deserves another look.... http://pic.twitter.com/gyL5kTBchQ

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) July 8, 2017

Other Wildcat stat lines

Nick Johnson had three points and two assists for the Portland Trail Blazers in nine minutes.

Kadeem Allen played four minutes in the Boston Celtics’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers and did not record a stat. Gabe York, a member of the Lakers, got his second-straight DNP.

Kaleb Tarczewski had four points and four rebounds in 11 minutes in a start for the Philadelphia 76ers. He shot 2 of 4 from the field, plus had a block.

Busy Sunday in store

Ashley, Allen, Johnson, Tarczewski, and Simmons are all scheduled to play again Sunday, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will return to action after the Brooklyn Nets had Saturday off.

Ashley and the Mavericks take on the Phoenix Suns at 1:30 p.m. PST (ESPN).

Hollis-Jefferson and the Nets square off against the Milwaukee Bucks at 3 p.m. PST (NBATV).

Allen and the Celtics face Johnson and the Blazers at 5:30 p.m. PST (ESPN2).

Simmons and the Grizzlies play the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m. PST (NBATV).

Tarczewski and the Sixers take on the Spurs at 7:30 p.m. PST (ESPN2).

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