Westchester Knicks lose close one to Raptors 905 in G-League Semis

With great power comes great responsibility, and unfortunately in this instance the Westchester Knicks were unable to live up to their billing as the number one overall seed.  The Knicks lost a hard-fought battle with the Raptors 905 in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final matchup of the NBA G-League playoffs.

Isaiah Hicks led the Knicks with 23 points in a losing effort.  The biggest problem for the Knicks was that they were unable to get consistent stops on defense.  There was plenty of offense to go around as Damyean Dotson had 20, Xavier Rathan-Mayes had 16, and Billy Garrett had 14.

On the other side, the Raptors 905 were much more well-balanced on offense, having six scorers in double digits and being led by Lorenzo Brown.  The most difficult part of the loss is the hot start that the Knicks got off to, starting the first quarter on a 17-4 run before the Raptors 905 came storming back.

The Westchester Knicks fought hard but went down seven points late and never recovered.  The dagger was a three pointer by Malachi Richardson, who gave the Raptors 905 a 12 point lead with just 30 seconds to go.  It was yet another disappointing season for the Knicks, but they fared much better than their NBA counterpart and can hang their heads high knowing the future is bright.

Miller named coach of the year

In more positive news, Westchester Knicks head coach Mike Miller has been named G-League coach of the year.  Unlike Jeff Hornacek, Miller has had moderate success with the Westchester team.  This year was another milestone, with the Knicks compiling the best record in franchise history and a number one overall seed in the G-League playoffs.

Miller is tough on his players, but overall seems to have good control over his bench and his personnel.  The Knicks finished off the season with a 32-18 regular season record, and although disappointed with a loss know that with Miller at the helm good things are still to come.