Ohio State basketball: Malaki Branham dominates in Summer League win

The former Ohio State basketball standout had a very impressive outing in his most recent NBA Summer League game. Malaki Branham delivered for the San Antonio Spurs down the stretch in their NBA Summer League victory last night over the Washington Wizards.

In the second half, the former Ohio State basketball standout broke loose for 20 of his 29 points, which lead all scorers. Branham also connected on five threes in just six attempts in this game. Buckeye fans are familiar with Branham’s ability to score in bunches on all three levels from his lone season at Ohio State.

Branham got himself going at the end of the first half with a couple of buckets in the final 30 seconds of the half, including this buzzer-beater that sent the Spurs into the break with momentum:

In 28 minutes of action, Branham knocked down 12 of his 20 attempts from the field, a very efficient 60% shooting split. The former Buckeye also pulled down two rebounds, dished out one assist, and had one steal in last night’s win for the Spurs.

In his rookie season, Branham found his way into the rotation in the early stages of last season. In 66 games played he provided a major boost for this young San Antonio team with averages of 10.2 points per game on 44% shooting from the field mostly off the bench. Now he’s trying to earn himself a much-increased role in the rotation.

Through four games of overall Summer League play, Branham’s unreal scoring ability has been on full display. His skill set fits perfectly with the NBA today. As long as he keeps playing this way, he most certainly will see a role increase in his second season in San Antonio.

Branham and the Spurs will play their fourth Summer League game from Las Vegas on Friday against the Detroit Pistons. Tip-off is set for 9:00 P.M. on ESPN.