Summer Hornets 94, Summer Knicks 90: Knicks juniors never give up but fall short

The New York Knicks took the floor today at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for their Summer League opener. Their roster featured a few new draft picks, a few familiar faces and that little bit of European flair. Their rivals, the Summer Hornets, sent sophomores Brandon Miller, Nick Smith, Jr. and Leaky Black to lead their team.

OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Leon Rose, Tom Thibodeau, World Wide Wes and James Dolan were all in attendance, watching the game from courtside seats. No pressure, kids!

The Knicks got off to a rough start and trailed the Hornets 23-12 at the end of the first quarter. Miller and the Hornets extended their lead to 15 points in the second quarter before the Knicks stormed back, with rookie Tyler Kolek shining as the point guard. New York trailed 47-40 at halftime.

Charlotte started the second half strong thanks to Miller and rookie Tidjane Salaun, but the Knicks cut the deficit to 67-63 by the end of the quarter. The Hornets led the entire game, but the Knicks never gave up. Our summer league representatives made the end exciting, cutting the score to two points with a chance to tie before ultimately losing, 94-90.

Duane Washington Jr. was a standout today for New York. The 24-year-old has some experience with the club and finished with 26 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range. For Charlotte, Nick Smith Jr. scored 24 points and Miller added 23.

First half

I missed the first quarter because a Wimbledon game went too long. (Don’t cry for me, the game was worth it.) From what I understand, the Knicks struggled to get going. Miller and the Hornets jumped out to a 13-point lead and the quarter ended with the Knicks trailing 23-12.

The Hornets continued to battle early in the second quarter, leading by 15 points before Tyler Kolek took over as floor general. We can’t say enough good things about the rookie. Given the chance, the 23-year-old rookie, selected by the Knicks with the 34th pick in this year’s draft, could one day lead the league in assists. Scoff if you want. His passing and passing are no joke, as evidenced by his connection with Damion Baugh in the corner for a three-pointer.

Kolek found Jacob Toppin here for the Knicks’ first points of the game. Tyler finished with seven points, seven assists and seven rebounds each. He played 29 minutes and shot 2 of 6.

Rokas Jokubaitis, who the Knicks selected as a point guard with the 34th pick in 2021, didn’t burn the net, but he showed off some deft shot creation down the stretch. He came off the bench for the Knicks today. His final stats were eight points, one assist and one steal. He shot 3 of 6 from the field in 14 minutes.

Pacome Dadiet was hesitant on offense, but his defense impressed early on. He earned the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, Brandon Miller. His final totals were five points, five rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. He shot 2 of 8 from the field and missed all three of his three-point attempts.

Other highlights of the second half included this great shot by Ariel Hukporti. Squint a bit and that cleanup for a score reminds me of Isaiah Hartenstein, right? Hukporti started the game, but finished with just 16 minutes of play, six points and five rebounds.

The Summer Knicks had reduced their halftime deficit, going into halftime with a score of 47-40.

After two quarters, Smith had scored 15 points and Miller had 11 for the boys in teal. For New York, Jacob Toppin led the scoring with 11 points and Duane Washington, Jr. had 10. Kolek already had five assists and center Dmytro Skapintsev had five rebounds. Skapintsev finished with nine points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

Second part

Charlotte came out of the break on a 12-6 run. Another three-pointer by Washington and a layup by Rokas forced the Hornets into a timeout to regroup.

Here, Miller takes a little revenge on Dadiet:

And here’s another assist from Kolek. It came in the first half, but is worth looking at again:

By the end of the quarter, the Junior Bockers had cut their lead to three, thanks to And-1s by Skapintsev and Baugh. Charlotte’s Miller tried to extend the Hornets’ lead, but Jokubaitis responded with three free throws on the next two possessions. Rokas is fun to watch, but he plans to return to Europe, so one wonders if his minutes should have gone to Kolek instead.

After three innings, New York trailed 67-63. At one point, the camera caught Mikal Bridges talking shoulder to shoulder with his new coach.

A word on Damion Baugh: Most recently with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League, he played for the Memphis Tigers, where he averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in the 2020-21 season, and then for the TCU Horned Frogs, where he started all 29 games his final season. He earned spots on the All-Big 12 Conference Second Team and the AP All-Big 12 Second Team. Known for his defensive skills and playmaking abilities, Baugh will likely be a good fit for the Westchester club this season.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Kolek hit a triple from the corner. New York kept pace with the Hornets, but Miller and Smith dominated late. Forward Tidjane Salaun, Charlotte’s sixth overall pick, had eight points and seven rebounds and was a big factor late in the game.

Washington continued to cook for New York and Toppin hit a three-pointer to make things interesting with less than a minute left. Kolek hit a hard shot and was fouled at the rim, then made both of his free throws to cut the score to 2 points.

With 11 seconds left, Miller was pressured by Baugh and Toppin on the throw-in pass, dribbled the ball off his leg and lost it out of bounds. Defense! Thibs must have been woozy. The Knicks were close enough to tying the game when Baugh threw the ball to Toppin, but Obi’s younger brother missed a contested layup at the rim. So close!

Following

The Summer Knicks will face the Summer Nets on Tuesday. Enjoy your weekend, Knicks fans. I’m going fishing.