The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the New York Knicks 85-77 on Sunday to lift the 2022 NBA summer league championship, marking the team’s third appearance in the final and second title since 2017.
With 19 points and seven rebounds for Portland, Trendon Watford was selected as game MVP. “They made a run in I think the late third or the fourth. We stuck together and when we came back in, we turned it up and I’m just proud of all these guys, man,” Watford said following his team’s victory.
Brandon Williams was the leading scorer on the night with 22 points, while the Knicks had five players who scored within doubles figures, led by Quentin Grimes with 19 points, who was followed by Miles McBride with 17 points, Jericho Sims with 13, and Feron Hunt, and Micah Potter with 10 points each.
On the back foot for much of the first quarter, two back-to-back 3-pointers put the Blazers back in the game with a 21-14 lead. Seven 3-pointers later, the Trail Blazers built an 11-point lead over the Knicks. From there, Portland expanded their lead to 16 points in the third quarter before wrapping up the game in the final quarter.
