Knicks Pummeled By Pistons in Summer League Opener

With several participants from their parents clubs' six-game postseason party from the spring on hand, the Detroit Pistons' prospects earned revenge against the New York Knicks.

The Knicks were dominated by Detroit in their latest Summer League opener, falling to Detroit by a 104-86 final at Cox Pavilion on Friday evening. Ron Holland, the fifth pick of last year's draft, stole the show with a 28-point, 11-rebound double-double in a game that Detroit led wire-to-wire.

Pacome Dadiet was one of the Knicks' brightest silver linings, scoring 17 points on 8-of-13 from the field in defeat. Thus spoiled in defeat was Jordan Brink's head coaching debut at the helm of the Summer League club, which was previously led by Dice Yoshimoto.

Playing in front of current Knicks stars Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride, and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as leadership like president Leon Rose and new head coach Mike Browns, the Knicks (0-1) struggled with turnovers early on, losing a dozen alone in the opening half, which yielded 20 Piston points. Daniss Jenkins, a protege of former Knicks coach Rick Pitino at Iona and St. John's, scored 13 of his 18 points to help created the early lead.

Three-point shooting was also a problem for the Knicks, who sank only six on 27 attempts. Reserve Dae Dae Grant was the only one to hit two, as star attraction Tyler Kolek was 0-of-5 on a 10-point night that featured eight assists and six rebounds, standing as one of three New York backcourt men (alongside Kevin McCullar Jr. and Dink Pate) as second on the team in boards.

The Pistons, in turn, had five Detroiters sink at least two, including a pair from previous Knicks draft pick Trevor Keels. Holland was 4-of-5 while interior prospect Tolu Smith put up a double-double of his own with 13 tallies and 11 rebounds in the paint.

New York's hope from the game could no doubt stem from Dadiet, who sank the Knicks' only three-pointer in the first half on a dozen attempt. The Knicks' most recent first-round pick had his share of struggles from deep but built most of his scoring through permeant penetration, including a showstopping rejection of Bobi Klintman in the second quarter.

Further metropolitan optimism emerged from another recent pick in Mohamed Diawara: the Knicks' lone important on this year's draft night led the team with seven rebounds and matched that in points thanks in part to the game's major highlight, a casual, if not successful, launch from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third period.

The Knicks' prospects face another recent playoff foe of the big club's on Sunday, as part two of their Vegas quartet comes against the Boston Celtics (5:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

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