Photo by MattAzevedo.com
Raptors 905 (27-9) def. Delaware 87ers (20-17); 110-96 | Box Score
Assignees: Bruno Caboclo (905).
Trailing by one heading into the fourth quarter, CJ Leslie came alive with 15 points in the quarter to lead the 905 to what was eventually a comfortable win. Leslie finished the night with 30 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and pummeled the 87ers inside with 10 free-throw attempts. This is the Leslie that dominated early on in the season, and the exits of Axel Toupane and Jarrod Uthoff have him back playing consistent minutes.
The Raptors 905 used strong second and fourth quarters to put away a plucky Delaware 87ers team 110-96 in Newark on Saturday night.
They outscored Delaware 62-39 over those two frames, enough to overcome a 57-48 deficit in the other two quarters. Both teams came into this one with four-game win streaks, but its the 905 that did enough to extend theirs to five.
After changing four faces from the previous game’s starting lineup, the Raptors 905 struggled with too many changes at the start of both halves, and were fortunate it didn’t cost them.
Bruno Caboclo was accompanied by John Jordan, Negus Webster-Chan, Antwaine Wiggins, and Yanick Moreira in a revamped starting lineup, and the lack of familiarity was apparent. The 905 started the game 5-for-14, before the insertion of Brady Heslip sparked the dormant offence. Heslip quickly racked up 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting that included two hits from the outside to give his team a 31-29 lead with about eight minutes to play in the first half. He finished with 19 on the night, along with four long-distance hits to now trail Scott Wood by three for the lead in total three-pointers made. Wood has played a game extra.
The 905 scored 33 in the second quarter, to lead 55-50 at the half.
In trying to adjust for the poor first half start, Stackhouse brought in Heslip, Singler, and Tavares to start the second half for Jordan, Webster-Chan, and Moreira, but it only created for more discombobulation. The 87ers outscored the 905 26-16 to start the third quarter, before the bench came in and cut the 905’s deficit to one heading into the final frame.
After struggling in the opening quarter, Jordan was excellent the rest of the way to finish the night with a double-double. His 10 points featured some quality moves in the mid-range that would even make DeMar DeRozan proud. He was making some great entry feeds as well and leading his bigs perfectly to the basket, to finish with a deserved 10 assists.
Bruno struggled with his outside stroke tonight, missing all five of his three-point attempts, and finishing 3-for-11 on the night. He did have a good block on a Delaware dunk attempt (thank you Facebook Live for getting jittery for a minute so I couldn’t tell on who it was), but he continues to settle for the jumper more often than he should. The other half of the glass would point out that he’s maintaining the confidence to keep shooting his shot, but in a league designed for development, it would be nice to see him dare to be different.
Wearing #1 for Delaware, Nate Robinson added some intrigue to the game with his presence, but was largely ineffective. His shot looked horrible all game, and he finished with three points and three assists. There was a play early in the second quarter when the 905 were able to work a post-up for Bruno on Nate, and Bruno got into good position before Nate was forced to foul.
Edy Tavares served up what I can best describe as a one-handed tomahawk block on James Webb III soon after that, and gestured to Webb III that he was crazy for even trying, after a finger wag. There’s your All-Star swag.
.@waltertavares22 giving out finger wags. #RT6 pic.twitter.com/Vu48nKU4Gb
— Raptors 905 (@Raptors905) February 26, 2017
Other than air balling on a free throw and a three-pointer, Wiggins put on another steady performance. He had 10 at the half and finished with 13 for the game. He may have picked up a thing or two from the latest Milwaukee Buck, Axel Toupane, using his euro step to great effect in transition. The 905 did well to setup a few of those opportunities for him tonight.
Despite the win, Stackhouse may look into his multiple changes to start each half as a learning moment. This is, after all, the D-League for everyone.
Notes:
- If there was ever an arena that was trying to outdo the Raptors game ops crew, it was the crew at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center tonight. It was annoyingly loud. Also annoying, the commentators pronouncing Caboclo as Cab-ick-clo.
- Edy Tavares played only 21 minutes tonight, but Moreira stepped in well with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Defence has long been his strong suit, but he has made clear strides on offence over the past month or so.
- In case you missed the big news, Axel Toupane was called up to the Milwaukee Bucks on a 10-day contract.
- The 905 will return home to face the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Monday, Feb. 27. Tip-off is at 7:30pm EST.
