Raptors 905 drop four in a row, even with the two-ways back
The final score speaks for itself. The discrepancy was six points larger than their previous loss against the same team.
This time, the story was supposed to unfold differently. The 905 had their two-ways – Alijah Martin and A.J. Lawson – back, but another loss bring their regular season record down to 10-5.
The 905 played catch-up throughout the entire game. They would inch as close as two points in the third, three points in the fourth, but they never once, even for a fleeting moment, held a lead.
The Magic, on the other hand, built a lead as big as 16 points in the first half, and took the wind out of the 905’s sails anytime there was a glimmer of hope.
Winning back-to-back helped the Magic cement their top-dog status in the league. The 905 got the memo: You maybe really good, even with Martin and Lawson, but not enough to beat us.
The 905 came into last night’s game with the best defensive rating (99.3) – the only team to be under 100 (the Capital City Go-Go were second best with 103.8).
After the 905 went on their best run of the game – an 11-3 run early in the fourth quarter – the Magic busted 905’s 2-3 zone by pinpoint passing inside the paint, leading to an Alex Morales (game-high 30 points) bucket. Then, Javonte Smart nailed a dribble pull-up 3 on Lawson to extend the lead to 10.
When the Magic had multiple chances to score, the 905’s defensive rating seemed to lie. Phillip Wheeler’s ghost screen seemed to confuse the 905 into a late switch, freeing up Smart for an open 3-point look. He missed. Wheeler, however, grabbed the board, then another one after his own miss. The 905 defence got caught napping under the warm Florida sun, away from the freezing elements.
Smart missed a free throw, but the Magic kept their possession. Wheeler had a wide-open 3, which was the tipped in by Justin Minaya. All that for only two points, but the Magic outworked the 905 while maintaining the lead.
Jarkel Joiner bailed out the 905 with a tough 3, and Julian Reese had a clutch block that fuled an offensive possession, helping the 905 inch within 3 (Reese also got the offensive board to give his team a second chance at scoring).
But, as the Magic had done throughout the final quarter, they teased the 905 into thinking that a comeback was possible. Reece Beekman kept getting to the basket whenever and however he wanted. After failing to complete the and-one, he succeeded on a second try.
Martin attempted to answer with 3s, but only went 1-4 late in the game. Defensively, he struggled mightily as Beekman walked into the lane after a screen reject, blowing past him. Beekman kicked the ball out to the wing and an extra pass to the corner ensued. Lester Quinones knocked down the wide-open 3. Eight-point game.
Then, Morales left Martin on the perimeter, eating his dust, and scored. Another eight-point lead for the Magic. The desperation 3s by Martin and Lawson didn’t fall, and the boat finally tipped over.
Not a surprising outcome as the 905 were just trying to keep up all game. Back-to-back lay-ups by Morales put the Magic up 12 points mid-way through the first quarter. He fought fire with fire by outpacing the 905’s pressure defence. When Tyreke Key forced Johnell Davis to miss a shot and tried to save the ball from going out of bounds, Wheeler snagged it and dunked with authority. From the jump, the winds were not blowing in the 905’s favour.
Wheeler continued to rock the 905’s boat in the second quarter. The 905 had six turnovers and the Magic capitalized. Lawson got mugged at half-court and Ace Baldwin knocked down the 3. A.J. Hoggard turned the ball over and Wheeler got an easy transition dunk.
The 905 closed the first half with five unanswered points, with Joiner hitting a triple and Lawson dunking an alley-oop pass on the fast break. They were down seven points, but the Magic quickly grew that to 11 in early in the second half.
In fairness to the two-ways, consecutive baskets by Martin and Lawson spurred a 8-2 run. Both made put-back lay-ups, Martin made a Quickley-esque floater, followed up by Lawson’s finger roll. David Roddy hit a triple to make it a two-point game, but after some back-and-forth, the Magic proved to be the bigger dog.
Quinones bullied Joiner down low. Morales used his height advantage over Martin to score. Davis knocked down a triple, his only basket of the game, to build a seven-point lead. Then, the boat rocked even more.
Tyson Degenhart picked up an offensive foul on a SLOB play and Reese had two, before and after Wheeler hit a triple to make it a 12-point game. Martin airballed a catch-and-shoot wide-open triple on the other end, and Roddy got T-ed up before subbing back in.
It was rough way to end the third. Kudos to the 905 for finally waking up in the fourth, but it was a classic case of a-little-too-late.
One consistent positive throughout game was Julian Reese. He had a beautiful one-handed dime into Tyreke Key at the end of the first quarter. That was a preview of the three dimes he’d have in the second quarter, where he was an offensive hub. He drew two of his seven fouls and had a put-back dunk.
In the 905’s 11-3 fourth quarter run, Reese may have missed his shots and his free throw, but made his mark by banging against William Baker down low, grabbed his own miss, and most notably, got the ball when Joiner couldn’t find a lane to attack. Reese threw a left-handed bullet pass to the corner, which got swung to Key on the wing, who knocked down the 3. Nice Canadian hockey assist for Juju. And a big-time block and offensive board late in the game that gave the 905 one last hope.
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