Raptors 905 start new year with streak-busting loss to Clippers
New year, new Raptors 905?
For the first time this season, the Dinos added a notch to the loss column after the San Diego Clippers exacted a bit of revenge on Friday in a rematch of last month’s Winter Showcase quarterfinal matchup.
The 114-110 defeat not only dropped the 905 to 5-1 on the season, but it also put an end to their historic 19-0 start, which was only briefly interrupted by a loss in the Showcase Final last month that didn’t count towards the standings.
Friday’s defeat at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre was their first “official” loss in nearly two months of action to begin the 2025-26 campaign.
Ultimately, the 905’s undoing against San Diego was a combination of factors they’d grown accustomed to controlling most nights. Like giving up a whopping 70 points in the paint (plus-18) on a plethora of line drives and back cuts, for instance. Much higher than the 50.3 paint points the 905 were giving up on average — eighth in the G league — entering the night.
There was also the 20 turnovers — for 31 points (plus-17) — they committed to the Clippers’ nine. Winning the giveaway-takeaway battle has been a trademark of the 905 all season, so to not only lose that margin, but to do it by so much, it was hard to believe that was the same team.
Although that’s not entirely fair, considering Chucky Hepburn missed a second consecutive game due to left-knee soreness on Friday. The starting point guard’s absence may not fully account for either of those disparities, but his point of attack presence (1.8 steals) and sure-handedness (8.3 assists on 1.8 turnovers) certainly would have helped in both departments.
But in fairness, his replacement, Jarkel Joiner, did his part to keep the ball game interesting. Especially in a first half the 905 spent — almost exclusively — playing from behind. The reserve-turned-starter put up 16 of his 18 points in the opening 24 minutes, doing it on 6-of-6 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, three of his triples came in the second quarter as the 905 went 5-of-11 from deep as a team after shooting just 2-of-8 in the opening frame (and finishing 11-of-38 for the night).
It was thanks to that short surge of outside production that the 905 briefly led in the second quarter — David Roddy drilled a deep right-wing three at the 4:53 mark to put the dinos up 43-42. A short-lived lead, however, as the 905 surrendered a 16-5 run to end the half as they trailed 58-48 at the break.
Much of the Clippers’ damage was thanks to former first-round pick Patrick Baldwin Jr., with the seven-footer putting up 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting to go with six rebounds en route to a 23-9-4-3-1 stat line.
Not far behind Baldwin was Canadian Jahmyl Telfort, who did most of his damage right after halftime. The Montreal native opened the third quarter with an individual 6-0 run, as part of eight points in the frame, putting the Clippers up by as many as 16 points.
A lead that might have been even greater had A.J. Lawson not returned to form after an uncharacteristically cold opening half. His first points of the game didn’t come until the 3:57 mark of the third — a cutting layup that snapped his 0-of-10 start from the field. Thankfully for him and the 3,130 in attendance, seeing the ball finally drop in appeared to open the floodgates.
The Brampton, Ont. native finished the quarter with 11 points as he shot 5-of-7 in the frame. An effort that not only salvaged his own line — finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds, albeit on 6-of-20 shooting (1-of-10 from deep) — but kept the deficit at a manageable 87-74 headed into the final frame.
Come the fourth quarter, the 905 appeared determined to complete yet another comeback. A quality that became somewhat of a defining characteristic of the team through its Tip-Off Tournament and Showcase Cup run.
Leading that late charge on Friday was Olivier Sarr, who like Lawson, had a pretty rough start to the night. In fact, the French forward was held scoreless before the final frame, when he racked up 11 points and six of his game-high 18 rebounds. Sarr’s effort on the glass led just about the only facet of the game that the 905 excelled in on Friday.
They finished the game with 53 rebounds (plus-24), 19 of which came on the offensive end (plus-14) for a 16-6 edge in second chance points. Sarr’s late charge was backed by Alijah Martin, who scored nine of his team-high 21 points in the final frame, while chipping in four of his seven rebounds as well.
The pair were vital down the stretch: first, Sarr collected an o-board that led to a timely free throw, then later Martin would slink into the dunker’s spot and finish at the rim off a slick dump-off pass from Tyreke Key. All of which cut down what was once a 17-point fourth quarter lead to just three (104-101) at the 1:39 mark of the fourth.
All for not, however, as the 905 couldn’t inch any closer. As they yet again struggled with the Clippers in the paint, or rather mostly Zach Freemantle. The lumbering forward scored eight points in the final two minutes of the ball game, as part of 18 for the night, with six of those points coming at the charity stripe.
The 905 had little to offer in the form of deterrence aside from sending Freemantle to the line. And while he did miss three free throws during that stretch, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide entirely.
In some ways, the Dinos looked like the same team that had found themselves down game-after-game, but always found a way to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. Yet, the calendar has officially flipped, and this year’s 905 team wasn’t able to pull off such a feat. At least not yet.
Let’s hope it wasn’t a tone-setting loss for what’s to come.
Up next
Action resumes on Tuesday when the Raptors 905 host the Noblesville Boom to continue a five-game road trip — now looking to start a new win streak for just the first time this season.
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