Kai Sotto gets benched anew in Magic loss to Pacers

MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto’s on-court debut in the NBA Summer League will once again have to wait a little longer as he was benched anew in the Orlando Magic’s 108-85 loss to the Indiana Pacers at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Monday, July 10 (Tuesday, July 11, Manila time).

This is the second consecutive game Sotto logged a DNP-CD (Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision) as he also did not see the floor at all in the Magic’s 89-78 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Pistons in their Summer League opener last Sunday, July 9.

After using only 10 players in their previous contest, Orlando’s Summer League head coach Dylan Murphy stuck with an 11-man rotation this time, with 6-foot-10 DJ Wilson playing the bulk of the minutes at the center position with a team-best 27:28 minutes of action.

The Pacers rode on a well-balanced offensive attack as all five starters scored in double figures, with Andrew Nembhard dropping a game-high 21 points, to go with 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals.

Despite shooting just 4-of-16 from the field, sharpshooting forward Bennedict Mathurin, who was part of last season’s NBA All-Rookie First Team, finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Meanwhile, Isaiah Jackson, an undersized 6-foot-9 big man, imposed his will against Orlando’s thin frontline with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds as the 7-foot-3 Sotto, the Magic’s tallest player in the roster, could only watch from the bench.

Similar to their loss to the Pistons, the Magic got outrebounded once again by their opponents by double-digits, 47-36.

Orlando, which trailed by as many as 26 points as early as the second quarter, also shot a dismal 30-of-74 clip from the field, compared to Indiana’s 40-of-83.

Caleb Houstan led the Magic with 18 points, while Elijah Hughes added 14.

Wilson, Jett Howard, and Robert Baker Jr. all came up with 10 markers each, while Anthony Black, the Magic’s sixth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, had 8 points on an awful 3-of-12 shooting.

Orlando shoots for its first win when it faces the New York Knicks on Thursday, July 13 at 8 am, Manila time. – Rappler.com