Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

NBA Summer League 2010:

Rodrigue Beaubois adjusting to role of point guard for Dallas Mavericks

Rodrigue Beaubois

Justin M. Bowen

Dallas Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois signs autographs in the Thomas & Mack Center concourse following a NBA Summer League game Monday, July 12, 2010. Beaubois had 15 points, including the game-winning shot with .07 seconds to play in overtime.

Rodrigue Beaubois showed flashes of brilliance for the Dallas Mavericks last year.

He burst onto the scene March 27 with a 40-point effort against Golden State, a game in which he seemingly couldn't miss, making 15-of-22 shots. He also scored 16 points in a playoff game against San Antonio.

The 6-foot-2 guard was back to his dominating ways Monday in the NBA Summer League.

His short jumper with .07 seconds to play in overtime lifted the Mavericks past the Milwaukee Bucks, 73-72, and capped a frantic end to a game that included three lead changes in the final 30 seconds.

Beaubois, who averaged 7.1 points and 12 minutes per game during his rookie campaign last year, gave the Mavs a 71-69 advantage with 28 seconds left when he buried a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer.

But Milwaukee's Deron Washington answered with a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 72-71 lead with 5.9 seconds to play, setting up the Beaubois game-winner.

It wasn't the first time Beaubois, who finished with 15 points in 29 minutes, changed the course of the game.

With Dallas trailing by a point with .03 seconds to play in regulation and Beaubois in-bounding the ball, he lobbed a pass to an elevating J.R. Giddens near the rim.

Giddens, with only time for a quick catch and release, soared to grab the ball and banked in a shot at the buzzer to force overtime.

"Giddens can get up," Beaubois said. "I had confidence the play would work and that he would come down with the pass."

For Beaubois, the pass to Giddens could be considered more important than the game-winning shot.

Beaubois, who primarily played shooting guard last year, is transitioning to point guard this summer. The Mavs' blueprint is to have him split time between the two guard spots next year in slowly transitioning to full-time point guard.

Fittingly, he finished with a game-high seven assists.

"I know what it takes to be a good point guard — pass the ball, get others involved and don't take bad shots," said Beaubois, who had 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting and four assists Saturday in an 87-78 loss to the Houston Rockets.

"I know it is going to be a challenge. The coaches are pushing me and I'm pushing myself."

Beaubois will have plenty of opportunities to work on distributing the ball the rest of the summer. The Mavericks have two games left in Las Vegas before Beaubois heads to Turkey in late August to play for France at the FIBA World Championships. He expects to start, with Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs not playing because of injuries.

Part of the maturation process will include the soft-spoken Beaubois becoming more of a vocal leader. Leading by example is one thing, but a point guard typically must be able to direct traffic on the floor through communication.

"I look at every game as an opportunity to get better," he said. "It's a different experience (at point guard), but at the same time, it is still basketball."

Giddens led Dallas with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Omar Samhan had nine points and nine rebounds.

Cousins has double-double to lift Kings

DeMarcus Cousins, the fifth-overall pick in last month's draft, had 14 points and 10 rebounds in his professional debut, leading the Sacramento Kings to a 97-68 win against the Detroit Pistons.

Cousins, one of five Kentucky players selected in the first round, connected on 5-of-11 shots in helping the Kings build a 48-31 advantage by halftime. He played 26 minutes.

Omri Casspi led the Kings with 16 points.

Top pick Wall has eight turnovers... again

John Wall had eight turnovers for the second straight day, but that didn't stop the Washington Wizards' 19-year-old point guard from putting on another show at the Cox Pavilion.

Wall, the first pick in last month's draft, had a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists in the Wizards' 89-64 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. Wall's electrifying pace up and down the court gave fans plenty to cheer about.

Wall had 24 points, eight assists and eight turnovers in his debut Sunday, a five-point win against Golden State.

Suns rally against D-League all-stars

The Phoenix Suns used a 21-4 run in the second half to overcome a double-digit deficit against the D-League all-stars in a 96-88 victory.

Scottie Reynolds, the first-team All-American from Villanova who went undrafted, had 17 points for the Suns (1-2). Earl Clark had a team-high 18 points.

Lakers, Timberwolves struggle to score

The New York Knicks limited the Los Angeles Lakers to eight points in the second quarter in a 71-63 victory.

Landry Fields had 17 points for the Knicks, while Derrick Caracter had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Minnesota also struggled to score Monday in its 85-61 loss to San Antonio. Alonzo Gee had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs.

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