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Career night from Meeks helps Raptors 905 clinch playoff berth

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Photo credit: Trung Ho / TrungHo.ca

Raptors 905 118, Northern Arizona Suns 114 | Box Score
Assignees: Malachi Richardson, Alfonzo McKinnie (905), None (Suns)
Two-ways: Lorenzo Brown (905), Alec Peters, Danuel House (Suns)

Raptors 905 have taken the next big step toward defending their G League Championship. Not long after the parent club Toronto Raptors closed out their own tight game on Friday, the 905 were hanging on through a wild finish to top the Northern Arizona Suns 118-114. In doing so, the 905 not only kept pace 1.5 games back of the Westchester Knicks in the race for the Atlantic Division title and a first-round bye, they also clinched their second consecutive playoff berth.

To do so, it took the 905 playing a style that doesn’t fit their modus operandi on the year but one that suited them well enough in this one. The Suns gameplan included a lot of 3-point shooting, a relative weakness for the 905, and Northern Arizona hit at a ridiculous clip most of the night, finishing 17-of-38 from long-range. The 905 aren’t equipped to keep up, and they didn’t – the shot 8-of-30 themselves, instead leveraging a massive edge on the offensive glass, out-rebounding the Suns 18-5 in that area, and embracing the pace without falling into turnover trouble. In news that won’t surprise anyone who’s watched the team all year, Kennedy Meeks was paramount in the rebounding battle. March’s favorite son not only came down with 15 rebounds, seven of them offensive, he also shot 12-of-16 to score a career-high 25 points.

Things looked dicey out of the gate, as the Suns came out on fire and Meeks got in early foul trouble. The game was hardly three minutes old when Phoenix Suns’ two-way player Alec Peters had hit his fourth three of the game, opening up a 16-11 lead and putting the visitors on their heels. Shevon Thompson would step in admirably for Meeks, and the 905 had a clear edict to attack inside against Peters playing at the center spot full-time (LaVoy Allen was unavailable). It looked for most of the quarter like Northern Arizona was one more shot from pulling away, but with each shot the 905 were able to respond to keep the lead at single-digits. As benches began filtering in, the 905 put together a late-quarter 9-0 run, one that would have had them ahead after the frame had Danuel House not hit a 67-footer to beat the buzzer.

That was a tough swing to come back from. The Suns attacked aggressively to start the second, taking advantage of a sped-up 905 backcourt. That group settled down eventually, with Kaza Keane and Davion Berry sandwiching a Thompson block with drives. It was short-lived, and not even a Jerry Stackhouse timeout after an Xavier Silas three and a House and-one settled things. Out of the breather, the Suns kept rolling, eventually going ahead by 16 and completing a 12-0 run. Perhaps sensing the game flow and the moment or just feeling himself at NCAA Tournament time, Meeks broke the drought with his first 3-point make of the season on his 15th attempt. That fired the 905 up, kick-starting a 22-5 run that involved a whole lot of Meeks inside, some nice defense from Alfonzo McKinnie, and another great boost from Fuquan Edwin, drawing a start once again here. Against long odds, the 905 held a one-point lead at halftime.

The game was far less about wild swings from there, and the 905 were able to assert their style a bit better in the third and grind the Suns down. They’d managed only 39-percent shooting in the quarter, and were it not for Josh Gray going off for 11 – including hitting all three of his threes – the 905 would have been firmly in control. As it was, their enormous rebounding edge was undercut by a 1-of-7 mark from outside and a handful of turnovers. There were bright spots, though, including another strong stretch from McKinnie and some great energy plays from Roger Moute a Bidias, even if he struggled to convert. The scene was set for a fourth quarter that would be a continued clash of styles, the 905 holding a four-point edge for cushioning.

That cushion was gone quickly. Archie Goodwin cut the lane for a dunk, Thompson missed a pair of free throws, and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson unleashed a floater to tie things up. It was all back-and-forth from there, albeit with an extended stretch without much offense from either side. The 905 looked to be in a dire position again a few minutes in, with Lorenzo Brown getting picked off by Gray to set up a Goodwin dunk, and then a Meeks turnover once again leading to a Gray-Goodwin connection. A Stackhouse timeout settled things down some, and after Silas was fouled on a three, the comeback started in earnest – Meeks buckets inside bookended free throws for Aaron Best, and then a quick Brown run*out off of a Goodwin miss put the 905 back ahead with under six minutes to play, sending the Suns to a timeout of their own.

The story stayed largely the same, as the 905’s next offensive possession once again saw Meeks haul in an offensive board and put it back. They couldn’t pull away, with Hollis-Jefferson and House connecting for an alley-oop over the top of the 905’s transition defense. Another transition push for a dunk, this time from Silas, put the home side back ahead, but Best answered with a huge three from Brown. Brown had the ball in his hands plenty over the final two minutes, as has come to be expected. First he managed to corral his own miss and score to keep the 905 ahead, then he found McKinnie cutting baseline as a safety valve for a tough layup. That put the 905 up three, and after Hollis-Jefferson delivered a quick-two dunk, Brown found himself at the line to close things out. He’d connect on six straight in the final 15 seconds, negating a late Peters heave and locking in the 905’s place in the playoffs.

It’s a heck of a way to start a road trip, even if the Suns are a little below .500. West coast road games are tough, and largely unfamiliar for the 905 right now. Locking a win in early is huge with a back-to-back looming tomorrow against one of the best teams in the league, the South Bay Lakers. The Knicks – and in fact the best record in the G League – remain the target, and 1.5 games is still doable even if time’s running out. Failing that, the 905 at least know they’ll be playing a postseason game, and they’ll almost surely be hosting it (they are four games up on the likely five and six seeds, who will be the visiting teams in one-game opening-round series, but I’m unsure if they’ve clinched home court due to the potential for an unlikely multi-team tie). All of that is to say, a major goal was accomplished here. This team has come a long way from 4-9 and figuring out how to win games exactly like this.

Notes

  • Assignment notes
    • Alfonzo McKinnie was really effective at both ends here, shooting 6-of-11 for 15 points and hauling in six rebounds. His plus-5 might undersell his role in the pivotal swings in the game (although I guess, mathematically, that can’t be true). He’s really stepped up his defense with Malcolm Miller with the Raptors, and his cut to save Brown late in the fourth was a game-saving read of the floor.
    • Malachi Richardson continues to struggle with his shot and to find a permanent place in Stackhouse’s rotation. he was 0-of-5 here and 0-of-3 from outside, adding two rebounds in 15 minutes. It was just two games ago it looked like his confidence might be growing. Instead, he’s shooting 26.9 percent over 10 games with the team. Patience is warranted.
    • On a side-note, Nigel Hayes will be joining Raptors 905 tomorrow for the last three games of the road trip.
  • Other 905 player notes
    • Lorenzo Brown’s finals coring line doesn’t look like the stuff of high efficiency – he used 30 possessions to reach 26 points – but to say his late-game quarterbacking of the offense was important would be a dramatic understatement. He’s such an asset in these tight situations in a league where inexperience is fairly rampant, as he’s among the most calm, heady point guards there is at that level. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished nine assists, so it’s hardly surprising he finished with a game-high plus-20.
    • Kennedy Meeks is the best. I want only good things for him. 25-and-15 on 12-of-16 shooting, playing through foul trouble, and even adding two assists and two steals. He might be the most improved player, in-season, in the G League this year…Fuquan Edwin is running with the chance to start, delivering another strong performance here with 18-and-10 and a plus-13 in 34 minutes…Shevon Thompson had 14 points (on 7-of-8) and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes…Aaron Best had a quiet offensive night but his threes came at big times, and he’s always a factor on defense.
  • Suns notes: Alec Peters cooled off after torching the nets early, still finishing with 23 points on 7-of-12 from outside. A starting center only managing three rebounds in 39 minutes is tough, though…Josh Gray is another in-season MIP candidate, finishing with 20-4-11 here…Danuel House (16-7) and Archie Goodwin (15-7-4) were effective offensively, outside of Goodwin’s turnovers.
  • The 905 have three more out west before closing the season at home on March 24. A friendly reminder that promo code “REPUBLIC905” will get you a discount at this link all season long.