Undrafted rookie Jaden Akins gave the Knicks 21 points off the bench, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors defeated New York, 87-77, on Thursday night.
New York is now 1-2 in Summer League action.
But the night was competitive in the first half. Golden State got out to a 26-19 lead after one, but then the offense on both sides took a nose dive. The Knicks won the quarter, 17-10, to get the game tied 36-36 at halftime.
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Tyler Nickel led the Knicks at halftime with nine points on 3 of 5 shooting (all from the three-point line).
Pacome Dadiet had six while Liam Robbins posted five points and six rebounds, and Dillon Jones grabbed five points and five rebounds. Jack Kayil struggled, scoring just two points on 1 of 5 shooting, coming down with four rebounds and dishing two assists in his 15 minutes to round out the starting five.
On the other side, LJ Cryer roasted the Knicks, scoring 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting ( 3-for-7 from three) to lead all scorers at the halfway point.
The third quarter saw the Warriors get out to a lead thanks to a 7-0 run to start, but the Knicks fought back, chipping away. However, Golden State took a 65-57 lead into the final frame. The Warriors would pull away early in the fourth, building a 16-point lead that the Knicks would try to cut into, but whenever New York did — getting it to 10 points — Golden State punched back and held on for the 10-point win.
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The Knicks starters did not have a great night. Nickel was stuck at nine points in his 31 minutes on the court while Dadiet posted just nine in his 28 minutes. Robbins was the only starter with a positive plus/minus as he dropped 13 points to go along with nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists in his 20 minutes.
Jones finished with five points and Kayil’s struggles carried over into the second half. The 2026 draft pick scored just two more points and was 2 of 9 from the field in his 29 minutes. He did come down with five rebounds and dished four assists, but was a minus-9 on the day.
As for Akins, he led the entire Knicks team in scoring. He was 9 of 20 from the field ( 3 of 8 from three) with two rebounds and one assist. The former Michigan State guard had a better showing than his Summer League debut when he finished with just two points in 21 minutes.
Akins, who was a G-League All-Star a season ago, averaged 16.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 14 games.
