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After losing to Capital City on Friday 114-112 in a heartbreaking Ryan Nembhard go-ahead winner as the clock expired, the Westchester Knicks looked to redeem themselves before heading for a quick road trip against Raptors 905 later in the week. Would the Knicks be able to contain Capital City’s elite scoring guards?
The Knicks got off to a quick 9-2 start to begin the game. Capital City came rallying back, going on a 15-2 run led by Justin Champagnie’s seven early points in a frantic back-and-forth game as they took a six-point 17-11 lead with 5:03 remaining in the first. The Knicks struggled with foul trouble in the first, going over the limit as Capital City capitalized by expanding their lead, moving the ball around, getting easy looks while attacking the basket, and putting pressure on the Knicks' defense.
Capital City’s sixth man, Erik Stevenson, was very active early on, showing that he’s one of the most feared sixth men in the G-League with nine quick points in five minutes, including a beautiful jumper off a John Butler Jr. screen to put Capital City up 32-17. Capital City ended the first on a staggering 35-9 run as the Knicks' three top leading scorers, TJ Warren, Boo Buie, and Chuma Okeke, were ineffective—a combined 3-of-11 from the field and -29 in the first.
Capital City continued extending its lead to begin the second, scoring six quick points right out of the gate, highlighted by a cutting-to-the-basket Mouhamadou Gueye thunderous slam that forced a Knicks timeout with 10:13 left in the quarter. Capital City increased its lead to as large as 26, but the Knicks creased into the lead, cutting it down to 16 with 6:59 remaining in the half.
The Knicks connected on their next five of eight shots, with two of them coming behind the arc, but Capital City seemed to respond every trip down, pushing to a 29-point lead with the score 77-48 with 1:10 left in the half. Capital City ended the half with an 81-57 lead with four players in double figures from Stevenson (17), Champagnie (16), Jalen McDaniels (19), and Nembhard (10) while being a +61 on the court in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Knicks' top three scorers in the first half were Warren (14), Donovan Williams (10), and Damion Baugh (14), who were a combined -31 in the first half.
Second Half
Buie and Williams helped kick off the second half with great energy for the Knicks with an 8-0 run to cut their deficit to 16. However, Capital City wouldn’t let up as they continued their hot shooting from the first to the 100-point mark with 4:40 still left to go; the Knicks defense had a hard time closing out on shooters and defending the paint as they had all afternoon.
The Knicks then went on a 17-2 run in the next two minutes to cut the deficit to 13 as they tried to get back within striking distance ahead of the fourth. Capital City started to go cold from the field and had some unforced errors, including an unsuccessful challenge earlier in the quarter. The Knicks outscored Capital City 36-25 in the third, going on a 21-6 run in the final 4:40 led by Williams, who was relentlessly attacking the basket, scoring eight of his 12 shot attempts in the restricted area. However, Capital City still led 106-93.
The Knicks continued their momentum from the third, forcing some key turnovers to cut the deficit under double digits (five) for the first time since the first quarter with under eight minutes left in the game. Could they come back to steal the game?
It seemed hopeful when Okeke hit a big three to get the Knicks within two. However, Stevenson continued his hot shooting night scoring five quick points on a tough turnaround fadeaway two and quick pull up three to put Capital City back up seven with 4:22 remaining. The Knicks got it cut the deficit to two after Williams converted on two free throws. Butler Jr. and Champagnie would hit critical free throws to help cushion Capital City’s lead once again until Warren hit a quick layup, and Okeke capitalized on a four-point play to make it a one-point game with 12.7 seconds to go.
Okeke then fouled Champagnie, who went to the line and hit both shots at the charity stripe, which put Capital City back up by three with 10.8 remaining. Nemhard Jr. then committed a foul on Okeke, who hit two more free throws with 4.4 seconds left, but it was all too late as Capital City defeated the Knicks 129-127 in back-to-back outings, losing by two as the Knick's epic comeback came up short.
Capital City has now won three consecutive games as they continue climbing for the top spot in the Showcase Cup Standings in the Eastern Conference. Stevenson (28) and Champagnie (29) continued their dominance, combining for 57 points. While Capital City picked up another win, the Knicks suffered their third consecutive loss as Warren’s 30 (led all scorers) wasn’t enough to get the Knicks over the hump despite Williams (25) and Baugh (23) combining for 48.
The Knicks shot a gruesome 30% from downtown on 36 attempts while allowing Capital City to shoot 50% from beyond the arc. They settled for the three too often and missed some easy shots at the rim. The Knicks will have back-to-back road games starting on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time as they look to end their losing streak against Raptors 905.
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