Westchester Ends Losing Skid Behind Lamb’s Scoring Barrage
by scoring 40 points in the win vs. Iowa.
By Monica D’Ippolito – Led by Doron Lamb’s franchise-record 40 points, the D-League’s Westchester Knicks snapped their 10-game losing streak Thursday night by defeating the Iowa Energy 104-101 at the Westchester County Center.
“It feels good to have a win, more importantly it feels good to get a win doing it the right way,” Westchester coach Kevin Whitted said shortly after his team’s long losing skid had ended. “The guys made a conscious effort to get better. Really, it’s about them. When you have guys on the floor who are committed to doing what’s necessary, good things happen.”
Lamb, who was picked up via trade with the Texas Legends on February 17, matched his season-high of 30 points midway through the third quarter. The 23-year-old former Kentucky Wildcat knocked down 12 of 17 shots from the field, including four of five from behind the arc, and was a perfect 12 for 12 from the charity stripe in the contest.
“I knew he could score, we knew he could shoot, the only concern we had was could he fit in to what we’re doing,” Whitted said of Lamb. “I felt like when he came in, he was just trying to find his way… what I tell guys all the time is, don’t lose your aggressiveness. Stay aggressive, stay committed to what we’re doing, continue to find shots, seek opportunities and take advantage of opportunities when those opportunities are there. I thought he did a good job of doing that tonight.”
Iowa (21-18) – the Memphis Grizzlies D-League affiliate – opened up its largest lead in the middle of the third quarter, when 35-year-old veteran Damien Wilkins got a bucket to give the Energy a 79-69 advantage. But back-to-back baskets by the Knicks’ Andre Barrett helped cut the Energy lead to five heading into the fourth quarter.
Westchester took the momentum into the final 12 minutes and started the quarter with a 7-0 run that was facilitated by Barrett and Darnell Jackson, who combined for all seven points, two assists and a steal in that stretch.
“It’s critical because that’s really been our Achilles heel, having those bad droughts in the third quarter and coming into the fourth continuing the drought,” Whitted said. “I thought tonight we were able to break those droughts by driving the ball. Like what I say to our guys, if you want to stop a run, you got to stop them with dribble drives and post touches, and I felt like we were able to get touches around the basket.”
The Energy tied the game at 84 apiece with two free throws by Chris Allen. But the Knicks were able to get stops down the stretch, and received huge contributions from Jackson and Barrett off the bench, along with pulverizing blocks by young prospects Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Jordan Bachysnski.
Jackson and Barrett have been plugged into the starting five since the beginning of the season, but with the recent additions of Lamb and 7-foot-2 center Bachysnski, Whitted chose to bring both veterans off the bench, saving their legs for important minutes down the stretch.
“Well, we need them late in games,” Whitted said. “We talked about that earlier today, about really just being prepared for the last six minutes of the fourth quarter. Tonight, we really just wanted to say, ‘Hey listen, take a step back, let’s allow our young players to really start us out of the gate and we’ll see how things turn out. We’ll integrate you guys as we move into the latter part of the game. Get comfortable and if we’re rolling we’ll continue to do that.’ And tonight worked.”
Barrett finished second on the team with 20 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Jackson wound up with 13 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.
“Honestly, it’s OK, but it’s only one win, just trying to win some more,” said Jackson. “It’s only one. I’m not happy about the win because we should have been winning. But, hopefully, in the morning when we go to Erie we can get one more. Start a little streak before the season goes down.”
Lamb, who had 23 of his points by halftime, was the offensive catalyst for the Knicks the entire contest. So it was only fitting that he iced the game in the final minutes by sinking seven consecutive shots from the free-throw line.
“I told him at halftime, go for 40,” said Jackson about Lamb’s big performance. “Don’t be passing, keep attacking, keep having that mindset. I’m happy he got 40. I was cheering for him to get 40, but I’m kind of jealous he got it.”
Jackson, who spent three years in the NBA, said watching Lamb’s scoring binge wasn’t quite the same as witnessing the offensive exploits of one of his former teammates.
“Like 40? Man, I’ve been around LeBron, so that right there doesn’t compare to The King,” Jackson said. “King James, I’ve seen him drop 55 like he was out there by himself. So, hopefully, I can see some more of that from Mr. Lamb.”
KNICK NOTES: Westchester, which hadn’t won a game since the first week in February before beating Iowa on Thursday, lost on the road to the Erie BayHawks 106-98 on Friday. Jackson scored 20 points, Lamb had 18, while Durrell Summers added 17 for the Knicks, whose record away from home fell to 1-18 with the loss in Erie. The Knicks only have three more home games this season, starting with a 7 pm contest next Tuesday, March 24, against Canton at the County Center.
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