Eastern Conference leading Raptors 905 fall in Quebec to Long Island Nets
While the NBA headed to Paris, France, for a game, the G League headed to Laval, Quebec, as the Raptors 905 would fall to the Long Island Nets 131-122 at Place Bell Friday night.
The loss only marked the 905’s second in their last seven games and fourth in the regular season overall.
It was a back-and-forth first quarter to start the first-ever G League game in Laval, with former Net and Brampton, Ontario native A.J. Lawson cutting back door and slamming it home to get things started. The second half of the first frame would go to Long Island, however, finishing the first on a 19-12 run to take the 27-24 lead after one.
It was much of the same back-and-forth play in the second quarter, with both teams trading runs. The main difference was the offensive output, as the teams combined for 79 points in the second after only combining for 51 in the first. While it looked like Long Island might have created some separation heading into the break, a quick 8-0 run in the final minute fuelled by back-to-back triples by Frank Kaminsky and Kennedy Chandler would cut the lead to two at halftime 66-64.
The highly efficient offence continued into the third quarter, as the teams would combine for 65 points and 144 over the middle frames. It remained closely contested until a 16-8 run propelled by some lockdown defence from Long Island in the final five minutes of the quarter extended the Nets lead to 102-93 after three.
Long Island have held their opponent to under 100 points in their last three games, winning by an average margin of victory of nearly 17 points. The 905 nearly breached that mark through three quarters but still found themselves down heading into the fourth.
The junior Dinos would come out firing, beginning the quarter on a 13-4 run to tie the game up at 106 with just over seven minutes to go. From then on out, however, it was all Nets. Long Island would smother the junior Raps, holding them to 16 points the rest of the way while going on a 25-16 run to end the game.
Canadian Contingent
There were Canadians all over the floor in Laval, between A.J. Lawson and Quincy Guerrier for the 905 and former 905er Oshae Brissett of the Nets. Toronto, Ontario raised Eugene Omoruyi is also on the 905 but did not play last night due to back spasms.
Brampton, Ontario’s Lawson and Montreal, Quebec’s Guerrier combined for 23 points, three rebounds and two assists, as it was a nice touch by 905 head coach Drew Jones to get Guerrier back in the rotation in his home province after previously being out.
Lawson also didn’t quite live up to the production he had the last time these two squads met, putting up a season-high 37 points as a member of the Nets against the 905 back in late November.
The Toronto, Ontario native Brissett was the most impactful Canadian on the floor, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal. It was only the 26-year-old’s third game this season, with his last contest coming in game five of the NBA finals last season as a member of the Boston Celtics.
Long Island’s three-headed monster
The Nets had a three-headed monster in this one with Drew Timme, Tyson Etienne, and Killian Hayes all going for over 20 points and helping the Nets to their highest point total of the season.
The latter in Hayes particularly was fantastic, finishing with 26 points, and a whopping 18 assists to go along with five rebounds and four steals.
Timme would also drop a double-double to the tune of 25 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, getting some big-time buckets down the stretch.
Etienne would impact the game the most scoring-wise, finishing with a game-high 29 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. The Wichita State product did so efficiently as well, going 9-for-12 from the field and 5-for-7 from distance.
Other notable performances:
Raptors 905
Frank Kaminsky 26 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
Jonathan Mogbo 19 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Jamison Battle 18 points, two rebounds, two assists, 4-for-7 from distance.
Jared Rhoden 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Long Island Nets
Kendall Brown 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
Trevon Scott nine points and four rebounds.
The Raptors 905 and Long Island Nets will have one more Montreal matinee with a matchup on Sunday with an early afternoon tip-off time.
The post Eastern Conference leading Raptors 905 fall in Quebec to Long Island Nets first appeared on Raptors Republic.