by WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The Los Angeles D-Fenders fell to the Westchester Knicks 115-113 on the road Tuesday.
Orlando Sanchez led the Knicks (2-3) with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Andre Barrett (20 points, three rebounds) also eclipsed the 20-point plateau for Westchester. Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Darnell Jackson both totaled 18 points, while Jackson also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the Knicks. Ben Strong (Red Lake Nation) had 10 points and 5 assists in 31 minutes of play.
The D-Fenders fought back from a 16-point deficit and had the ball with a chance to possibly win, but the Harris’ shot hit the front of the rim. The first quarter ended with the D-Fenders trailing, 23-21. It was a well-rounded effort for L.A., with nine players scoring on the quarter. The D-Fenders would outscore the Knicks 38-35 in the second quarter and take a one-point lead (59-58) into halftime. Brown had a team-high 13 points in the first half, while Barrett led all scorers with 14 points for Westchester.
Westchester started the second half on a tear, outscoring the D-Fenders 33-21 and shooting 50 percent from the field compared to 32 percent for L.A. Sanchez scored 10 points for the Knicks in the quarter, while Harris led the D-Fenders with 12. Trailing 91-80 after three quarters, the D-Fenders would claw back into this one, scoring 33 points in the fourth compared to 24 for Westchester. Harris had 11 points in the frame.
Los Angeles shot 44 percent from the field, compared to 49 percent for Westchester. The D-Fenders scored 42 points in the paint, while Westchester finished with 68. The Knicks finished with eight turnovers that led to 10 points for the D-Fenders, while L.A. turned the ball over 11 times, leading to 19 points for Westchester.
