The Sacramento Kings’ 7th selection overall in the NBA Draft out of Arkansas had 25 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 turnover in almost 25 minutes in the teams 79-76 win over the Brooklynn Nets in the 2nd game of the Classic. He made 9 of 29 shots from the field, 1 of 9 in 3-point territory, and 5 of 7 at foul line.
Acuff missed 7 of his first 8 shots from the floor, but made 9 of 21after he got it going offensively. His only triple arrived with 2:15 remaining in the game to give the Kings a 73-72 lead.
Second year Kings’ player Nique Clifford pitched in 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists in 30 minutes. Tied at 76-all, Clifford made a 28-foot 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left on the clock that proved to be the game-winning basket. Rookie Emmanuel Sharp made scored 11 points in the 1st half to finish with 13 points.
Dylan Cardwell had 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 blocked shots for the Kings, while Jonathan Mogbo added 6 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocked shots, and two steals in 32 minutes.
Egor Dëmin led the Nets with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in nearly 23 minutes. Ben Saraf and Chaney Johnson had 10 points each. Rookie Tyler Bilodeau had 9 points and 6 rebounds. Johnson pulled down 10 of the Nets 50 rebounds.
After Dylan Cardwell produced a thundering put-back dunk, the Nets ignited a 13-2 run in the first quarter. Brooklyn led 21-10 after the first 12 minutes. The Kings fell behind 28-10 before surging back to take the lead 31-30 on a 3-point play by Acuff in the 2nd quarter. The game was knotted at 37 apiece at the break.
Acuff scored 9 points, making 3 of 6 shots from the field and all 3 attempts at the line. The Nets lead 57-56 after 3 quarters.
The last 6 minutes was full of action for both teams. The officials had to pause the game to study a “hostile situation” after Cardwell and Egor Dëmin were tied up with the basketball under the basket. The scene nearly turned into a bench-clearing brawl, but the referees determined that it resulted in a jump ball.
ON THE MARQUEE: Emmanuel Sharp’s steal followed by an alley-oop dunk to Nique Clifford at the 2:05 mark of the 2nd frame was a show stopper that put the Kings up 37-32.
* NOTES: Mikel Brown Jr. sat out of the Brooklyn’Nets’ 1st California Classic game because the team are actively managing his workload since he was drafted with the 6th overall selection and recently signed his rookie contract.
Chris Darnell gets his 1st victory as the Sacramento Kings’ Summer League head coach.
Reported, Directed, and Produced by Tony Ray Harvey
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This footage was filmed on July 4, 2026, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 📽
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