Sharifee Cooper from Auburn and Trendon Watford from Mountain Brook High School scored for the first time in an NBA regular-season game on Sunday.
Cooper made his first basket in the Atlanta Hawks’ 120-100 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, and Watford got his first bucket in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 124-95 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
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Watford’s first points came in his first NBA game. Watford made Portland’s regular-season roster as an undrafted rookie, but he had been inactive for the Trail Blazers’ first 13 games. He was on the playing roster for Sunday’s game with Portland All-Star Dame Lillard sidelined by an abdominal injury.
Watford played 6:44 in his NBA debut and had two assists in addition to his basket.
Watford missed a 6-foot floater before his first basket – a transition layup with 4:14 left to play at Ball Arena in Denver.
The Trail Blazers play the Toronto Raptors at 9 p.m. CST Monday in Portland.
Cooper had played 6:43, missed three shots and had two assists during Atlanta’s games on Oct. 21 and Oct. 25.
On Sunday, Cooper played 1:56 in his third NBA game and made his only shot, driving for a layup with 1:33 remaining to play at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
A second-round choice in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cooper has a two-way contract with the Hawks. A two-way contract allows Cooper to spend time with the NBA team and play for its NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.
Cooper had 23 points and six assists in the Skyhawks’ 116-103 loss to the Maine Red Claws on Nov. 5 and 14 points and four assists in a 113-98 loss to Maine on Nov. 7.
The Hawks play the Orlando Magic at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Atlanta. The Skyhawks’ next game comes on Friday against the Delaware Blue Coats at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.