Josh Gray scores 19 ( 8 rebounds)to lead nets to victory

LAS VEGAS — The thing Josh Gray was worried about after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Washington Wizards 88-85 Monday afternoon in NBA Summer League action at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center was that he had scored a little too much.

The point guard led Brooklyn with 19 points in the win that improved their record to 2-1 and kept them in the mix for a spot in the eight-team championship tournament with one preliminary game remaining.

It’s not what he actually came here to do.

“My goal was to come in and show these GMs and scouts that they could trust me with their unit on the third string,” said Gray. “Come in, be a floor general, run my unit, take care of the ball and make the right plays. That’s what’s going to get me a job, and that’s more realistic instead of trying to go out there and score 30 points.”

Gray added eight rebounds against Washington and also had five boards against Dallas on Friday, showing an ability to rebound above his 6-foot-1 height. And he shot well against the Wizards — 6-for-12 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line on aggressive drives to the rim.

The former LSU star played two seasons in the G League and a pair of 10-day contracts with the Phoenix Suns before playing last season in Korea. He’s started all three games and played more minutes than any other non-roster player here with the Nets by far.

“He’s just stable,” said coach Adam Harrington. “He’s obviously a little older, played professional basketball. So that was one of the reasons we really wanted him on the team, was obviously we’re giving him a great look but he would bring stability to the team, especially with some of our roster guys, because that point guard position is so important. We play with an offense with multiple ballhandlers, and he was having a good game tonight. And we sort of rode on the back of him, and he did a great job for us.”LINK