It was a lot of fun. The first shot went down and that definitely helps. I had about 30 people up in the stands from my family alone, so I definitely heard them. – Spencer Butterfield, on starting in summer league play Tuesday
SALT LAKE CITY — Spencer Butterfield was born in Provo, played basketball at Utah State and happens to be having a family reunion in the Salt Lake area this coming weekend.
Butterfield was in the starting lineup for the Utah Jazz in their summer league game against the Boston Celtics and thanks to the timely reunion, he had a solid contingent of fans for Tuesday’s game when he was one of the starting guards.
The former Aggie, who played in Logan for two seasons from 2012 to 2014, made the first Jazz basket of the game, a 3-pointer, and then added a pair of baskets in the second quarter in less than a minute, including another trey. Although he didn’t score the rest of the game, it was a memorable night for Butterfield.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “The first shot went down and that definitely helps. I had about 30 people up in the stands from my family alone, so I definitely heard them.”
Like Butterfield, the Jazz started quickly, but couldn’t sustain it and ended up losing for the second straight night, this time by an 89-82 count at Vivint Arena.
Butterfield hadn’t played a minute the night before, but he took Olivier Hanlan’s spot in the starting lineup after Hanlan was dealt to San Antonio in the trade that brought Boris Diaw to the Jazz less than three hours before the Jazz tipped off.
Jazz coach Johnnie Bryant said he had planned to play Butterfield even before the trade happened.
“With 15 guys we want to look at different lineups and today was Spencer’s day and we wanted to take a look at him,” Bryant said. “Spencer can shoot the basketball. Having (him) on the floor is really a weapon for us.”
The 6-3 Butterfield played last year for Juventus in Lithuania, where he averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in a starting role. He knows his chances of making an NBA roster are slim, but he’s grateful for the opportunity.
“The Jazz were the first ones to take a chance on me and I appreciate that,” he said. “It’s been an awesome organization to play for”
LYLES IS THE MAN: At last year’s summer league, Trey Lyles was a rookie trying to find his way. Now he’s the team's main man and he was the dominant Jazz player for the second straight night.
He finished with 26 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field and 9 of 10 from the line in 32 minutes of action, and grabbed 11 rebounds.
He came into the press room with an ice-pack wrapped around his right hand, but when asked what happened to his hand, he joked, “it was just from shooting too much.”
Besides Lyles, only one Jazz player made it to double figures as Dionte Christmas scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
SIMMONS SHINES: San Antonio second-year forward Jonathon Simmons has been the most impressive player so far in the Jazz Summer League as he led the Spurs to their second consecutive victory, 95-91 over Philadelphia.
Following his 18-point performance in a 90-69 win over Utah Monday night, Simmons poured in 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.
Another second-year forward for San Antonio, Kyle Anderson, added 23 points after scoring 25 the night before.
NIGHT OFF: Another Simmons, No. 1 draft choice Ben Simmons, didn’t play in Philadelphia’s Tuesday night loss to San Antonio, and it had nothing to do with the leg cramps he suffered late in Monday’s loss to Boston.
Sixers coach Billy Lange said with three games in four nights in Salt Lake, plus the upcoming summer league in Las Vegas, his team wants to rest Simmons and other players.
Besides Simmons, the other four starters from Monday night — Richaun Holmes, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, T.J. McConnell and James Nunnally — all didn’t play Tuesday afternoon.
SUMMER NOTES: Boston played without Jaylen Brown, the No. 3 pick in the draft, who sat out against the Jazz because of a “mild hyperextension of his right knee,” suffered in Monday night’s win over Philadelphia. … The Celtics were led by James Young with 17 points and Terry Rozier with 16. … Gordon Hayward watched the second half of the Jazz game Tuesday along with his wife, Robyn, who is due with the couple’s second daughter next week. Derrick Favors was also on hand for the Jazz game along with Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood and former Jazzman Ronnie Price.