Article courtesy of Seth Abbott (DubKnicksFan)
If you were awake early — who the hell is awake at 10 AM on a Friday, anyway? — you got to watch the Westchester Knicks (12-12) beat the Erie BayHawks (7-18) (Orlando Magic Affiliate) in Mississauga, Ontario on Friday. The teams are right in the middle of the 13th Annual NBA D-League Showcase in Canada. The five-day showcase features 22 D-League games in front of an audience of top NBA executives. Players have high hopes of receiving a lucrative NBA contract by showing they should be the next call up. To some of these players this matchup felt like a playoff game with a lot at stake.
The W-Knicks were resilient and although down most of the game they came back and won 118-114. The win moves Westchester back to .500 for the year.
A lot of eyes were on the W-Knicks today with around 8,000 fans watching on Facebook Live. Unfortunately NBA TV did not broadcast this game like other D-League Showcase games this week, because it was highly competitive. The W-Knicks shot 57% from the field and out-rebounded the BayHawks 36-27 in the win. The win snapped the W-Knicks two-game losing streak. The turning point in the game was during the 3rd quarter. After the BayHawks surged to a 15-point lead and looked to run away with an easy win, the W-Knicks did not fold. They made a huge 18-4 run to comeback and close the end the quarter only down by a point. The end of the game was tight but Westchester pulled away late with four clutch free throws from Courtney Fells.
Fells looked the least nervous of anyone playing on the W-Knicks roster today, finishing the game with 22 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds. Courtney the well-traveled journeyman has sparked Westchester since he was acquired from the Texas Legends on December 21st. The Knicks had a balanced scoring attack with 6 players in double figures. Damien Inglis finished the game with 15 points, and a team high 8 rebounds. Keith Wright had another solid game with 12 points, 6 rebounds and an assist.
Westchester’s bench came up big once again especially in the second half of the game finished with 53 points. Von Wafer came off the bench and showed the NBA scouts he still has something left in his tank. He finished with a team-high 23 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Guard Jordon Crawford finished with 16 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Forward Mike Davis finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
NEPOTISM ALERT: Westchester head coach Mike Miller’s son Joey saw his fist action on the court since he was signed a week ago playing 2 minutes.
The final game for Westchester during the D-League Showcase will match them up with the Canton Charge Sunday at 10am on NBATV.