By Juan Carlos Blanco, RotoWire
A balanced scoring effort and aggressive rebounding led the New York Knicks to a 91-72 victory over the Miami Heat in the final Orlando Summer League matchup for both teams Thursday morning at Amway Center.
The Knicks saw four players post double digits in the scoring column on their way to a stellar 55 percent team shooting effort. That tally included an impressive 46.2 percent success rate from behind the arc with five players shooting 50 percent or better (min. three FGA).
New York emerged victorious in the rebounding battle as well, surpassing the Heat on the glass by a 37-32 margin, while also limiting Miami to 32.4 percent shooting. The Knicks were able to establish the tone early by outscoring Miami 22-14 in the first quarter.
Damyean Dotson, who entered Thursday averaging 11.0 points per game in Summer League action, led the way for New York with a near double-double of 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and one steal. Chasson Randle, who’d paced the Knicks with 15.3 points per game coming in, provided 18 points, six boards, two assists and one steal. Undrafted free agent signee Nigel Hayes supplied 13 points, six boards, two assists and a block, while former Vanderbilt center Luke Kornet registered 10 points, five boards, three assists and three blocks.
The Heat was paced by Matt Williams, who managed 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Promising 2017 first-round pick Bam Adebayo, who’d averaged 19.0 points over the first four games of Summer League play, stepped up with 13 points, but shot just 1-of-10 from the field. He added three rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Justin Robinson poured in 12 points on a team-best 55.6 percent shooting and supplemented the scoring with a pair of steals. Okaro White matched his scoring total and added 12 boards and three assists. The emerging second-year big man came into Thursday averaging a team-best 21.3 points per game. Ex-Virginia standout London Perrantes contributed another solid effort with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
