SummerBlazers 85, SummerKnicks 77: Scenes from getting beaten by the best

If you’re too young to remember the 1990s Knicks, this 2022 Summer League club might be the closest you’ll ever get. Our guys played hard — nearly made it to the mountaintop — but in the end they just ran into a superior opponent. The Portland Trail Blazers had their number the last time these two squads played, and they had the Knicks’ number again in the title game.

Quentin Grimes probably cost himself the Summer League MVP award — whatever that is worth — with a dreadful shooting performance: 2-10 from three-point range. He actually continued to score well inside the arc and get to the free-throw line, but it simply wasn’t enough against a hellacious Portland defense. The Knicks managed just 77 points in both losses to Portland; in their other three games, they averaged 103 points. Miles McBride (2-5 from three) faired slightly better from deep, at least percentage-wise. Jericho Sims struggled to rebound. Feron Hunt was horrible.

Trendon Watford (19 points) and former Westchester Knick Brandon Williams (20 points) paced the Blazers to victory.

And so now we wait until late-September/early-October for preseason Knicks basketball. Stay tuned for more content as we try to get through the late-summer dry spell together.