by WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – The Westchester Knicks (16-9), the official NBA G League affiliate of the New York Knickerbockers, fell to 0-2 at home this season against the Grand Rapids Drive (12-12), the Detroit Pistons’ affiliate, with a final score of 114-89.
Knicks affiliate Trey Burke paced Westchester with 28 points, rounding out his night with five assists, four rebounds, and two steals. His fellow affiliate Xavier Rathan-Mayes provided 15 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and two steals while Nigel Hayes supplied 10 points with six rebounds. In his first game back upon injury, Two-Way player Isaiah Hicks also contributed 10 points.
Grand Rapids’ Jamel Morris led all scorers in the game with 29 points, completing a double-double with 10 rebounds. Center Landy Nnoko also found a double-double, his of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Thornton and Zeke Upshaw had 23 and 12 from the pine respectively, while Bronson Koenig supplied 15 points, Kenneth Smith 15 assists.
The home team was slow to start as the visiting Drive ran up a 10-point lead in the first eight minutes of the game. Westchester bounced back to end the first down by just five, turning the tides in its favor four minutes into the second by regaining the lead. Though the Knicks controlled the majority of the second quarter, the team struggled behind the arc, hitting just 4-of-14 three-point attempts in the first half. A 9-0 run from the Drive at the end of the second, seven of which came from Marcus Thornton, put Grand Rapids back ahead 53-49 to end the half.
Piling on another run of 14-4, the Drive quickly racked up a 14-point lead in the third. Outscoring the Knicks by 10 points in the quarter, Grand Rapids held that 14-point advantage heading into the final twelve minutes. Westchester, already low on gas, seemed to be running on fumes as the Drive piled on a twenty-plus point lead, ending the match with a game-high, 25-point advantage over the Knicks.
