Photo credit: KarynStepien.com
Raptors 905 88, Long Island Nets 95 | Box Score
Assignees: Bruno Caboclo (905), Isaiah Whitehead (Nets)
Two-ways:Malcolm Miller (905), Yakuba Ouattara, Jake Wiley (Nets)
For whatever reason, they opted not to air this game on Facebook Live. It was only available on NBA TV…in the United States. Canadian subscribers to NBA TV or to League Pass were thus blacked out from watching. On top of that, there were no live in-game stats due to a connection error in Long Island, only a box score well after the end of each half. On top of which, I only managed a reliable illegal stream for the second half. So, there is no recap, we’re just doing a notes post.
For posterity, the game will air on NBA TV Canada on delay (ha), so I’ll get a proper look at the first half later. Here’s me, trying to watch this first half:
Get that you know what outta here! #RT6 pic.twitter.com/ndR6iMukib
— Raptors 905 (@Raptors905) December 3, 2017
1st half – Nets lead 50-42
- Andre Washington drew the start at center with Shevon Thompson unavailable and the team wanting to protect Kennedy Meeks from foul trouble.
- Meeks (11 points, four rebounds) and Kaza Keane (10 points on 10 field-goal attempts) led the 905 in scoring. Bruno Caboclo was out to a quiet low-usage start but had two assists.
- The bench outscored the starters 31-11.
- Raptors 905 shot 40 percent and committed nine turnovers for eight points.
- Keane is an absolute pest defensively. He might be the most fun player on the team to watch on that side of the ball. The Nets broadcast was pumping up Tahjere McCall as “G League Patrick Beverley,” but McCall might not have been the most Beverley-like player in this game. Keane’s performance wasn’t enough for the in-arena P.A. announcer to pronounce his name correctly, though.
- No Nets player scored in double figures but nine different players scored, and one of their scoreless players (Prince Ibeh) was a game-high plus-10 in the half. Long Island shot 51 percent.
- Raptors 905 shot 40 percent and committed nine turnovers for eight points.
3rd quarter – Nets lead 74-66
- Meeks staarted the second half in place of Washington after going without a foul in the first half.
- Head coach Jerry Stackhouse came out to midcourt to argue a missed call on a 24-second shot-clock reset, and he earned a technical for his troubles. While Stackhouse initially joked about how many techs he may get, he’s generally done a good job keeping his money in his pocket. I’m not sure if the first half had some shaky officiating or if this was just a tough moment or what.
- The 905 went on a 15-7 run to start the half and tie the game. That stretch included Caboclo finger-wagging after a block on Ibeh, which was incredible. He had some really good minutes to start the half.
- The Nets pushed right back with a run that put them ahead seven, punctuated by Jake Wiley earning a delay of game warning for hanging on the rim after a dunk. They’d edge that lead to eight by the end of the quarter.
- Nets assignee Isaiah Whitehead left the game with an apparent injury.
4th quarter – Nets win
- Long Island began pulling away early, getting up 13 before Caboclo grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to stop the bleeding. The 905 fought back enough for the Nets to use a challenge on a Shannon Scott foul call, up nine with seven minutes to go. The Nets lost the challenge, were charged the foul and a timeout, and their lead was back down to seven.
- Out of a break with four minutes to go, the 905 went small-ish with three guards (Keane, Aaron Best, and Swiss army knife Davion Berry), Malcolm Miller (and later Caboclo in that spot), and Meeks. They trimmed the lead to five at one point.
- The 905 just didn’t have that one last push in them. Long Island got an and-one, then a three for Wiley, and then a beautiful hesitation dump-off from Milton Dotle to Kamarl Murphy. Berry had a three bounce in and drew a foul during that run, and the 905’s defense frustrated the Nets into some late mistakes, but it wasn’t nearly enough, and the end-game fouling couldn’t close the distance.
- The 905 have now lost five of their last six. They need that Air Canada Centre crowd to get their backs in a major way Tuesday, because the Texas Legends are solid and the 905 could use a win. That’s four wins in a row for the Nets, the first time in franchise history they’ve pulled off such a streak.
Notes
- Assignment notes
- Bruno Caboclo had 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds, and was a minus-1 in 31 minutes.
- Other 905 player notes
- Malcolm Miller was 2-of-12 for six points, five rebounds, and three assists. The shooting obviously looks a certain way, and he continues to work his way back into game shape. He does a lot of encouraging things that portend well for his prospects once he’s back at 100 percent…Meeks finished with a 16-and-11 double-double and is basically automatic on a post-up with position established at this level…Keane scored 19 and was the team’s best player for the minutes I saw.
- Shevon Thompson was not with the team due to VISA issues.
- Jerry Stackhouse’s vest game is unspeakably good.
- Nets notes: I didn’t catch an update on Whitehead on the broadcast, but here’s hoping his late-game absence was only a precaution…McCall and Murphy were the Nets two best players in the minutes I saw, and Wiley provided a nice bench spark….Ibeh remains an intriguing mega-long-term project.
- The 905 now return home for an 11 am tip-off at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday. A friendly reminder that promo code “REPUBLIC905” will get you a discount at this link all season long.
