Raptors 905 119, Sioux Falls Skyforce 102 | Box Score
Two-ways: Jordan Loyd (905), Yante Maten (Skyforce)
Assignees: Malcolm Miller (905)
Raptors 905 finished the weekend splitting a back-to-back with a 119-102 victory over Sioux Falls Skyforce, improving their record to 24-16.
Jordan Loyd finished with a team-high 25 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, while MiKyle McIntosh added 24 points and 7 rebounds. Assignment player Malcolm Miller scored 17 points in 36 minutes of action.
Raphiael Putney scored a game-high 28 points for the Skyforce, going 10 of 17 from the floor including 4 3-pointers. Putney was a contributing source for Sioux Falls all over the court, also recording 7 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 2 steals.
In a possible combination of having played not less than 24 hours ago mixed with an early Sunday afternoon tipoff, the 905 missed 5 times in one particular possession in the early going, and their first bucket didn’t come until nearly 3 and a half minutes into the game when Loyd finger-rolled his way to an and-1.
But the 905 quickly got hot from downtown, finishing the quarter shooting 6 of 12 from long-range and a Rodney Pryor 3-pointer gave the 905 its first, though brief, lead of the game at 28-26.
Loyd had a couple of aggressive drives in the first half, and a layup at the 5:32 mark in the second quarter put the 905 on top once again. Two quick layups from Derek Cooke Jr. and Jordan Howard followed, forcing the Skyforce to call a timeout.
Five Raptors 905 players were in double-digit scoring heading into halftime with a 66-58 lead, including Miller who scored 9 of his 12 points in the latter half of the second quarter.
Miller then opened the second half with a pull-up 3-pointer, helping the 905 build its lead into double-digits. Back-to-back transition finishes for Duane Notice and Loyd put the 905 up 82-62 with 5:27 left in the 3rd quarter. Miller continued to build on his all-around performance, taking charges on back-to-back possessions with less than a minute remaining in the period – a sign that perhaps these are the smaller things that the 6-foot-7 forward is looking to work on.
“Absolutely, that’s why he’s an NBA player.” head coach Jama Mahlalela said after the game. “He does all the little things so well, he’s not super elite at sort of one thing, he’s really good at a lot of things… so yeah those are the details that we look at.”
Mahlalela added, “And you know, someone like Wayne Embry is here earlier and watches him play and that’s what he goes back and tells Masai [Ujiri] and tells Bobby [Webster] and tells Nick Nurse.”
After going scoreless in the 3rd quarter, McIntosh reeled of 7 straight points to start the final period. By this point, the 905 were holding holding a 100-78 lead.
Notes
- 905 Two-Way Notes
- Jordan Loyd
- Loyd finished the game with 25 points (9/19 FG, 2/6 3-pt), 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals. Loyd was aggressive in his drives to the basket and initiated a couple of and-1’s in first half. Without another ball-handling presence in Josh Adams (with Team USA), Loyd saw nearly 38 minutes of action on the afternoon.
- Jordan Loyd
- Assignee Notes:
- Malcolm Miller
- Miller finished with 17 points (5/11 FG, 3/8 3-pt), 3 rebounds and 2 steals. He had a quiet start to the game but scored in bunches as halftime approached, scoring 9 of his 12 first half points in the latter half of the second quarter on 4 of 7 shooting showing the offensive spurts he’s capable of producing. He also took back-to-back charges with less than a minute left in the 3rd quarter as 905 were up 88-72 (Jama Mahlalela spoke to this in the post game – see above).
- Through 8 games (excluding today) with the 905 this season, Miller has averaged 10.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
- Malcolm Miller
- Other player notes:
- MiKyle McIntosh
- The Canadian out of University of Oregon looked confident in his offensive game today, scoring 15 points in the first half on 6 of 9 shooting.
- After hitting a 3 in the 4th quarter, McIntosh showed off a bit of flash on a one-on-one play, crossing over a defender at the elbow and finished with a reverse layup.
- MiKyle McIntosh
- Skyforce Two-Way Notes
- Yante Maten
- Maten finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds. He has averaged 25.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game with the Skyforce.
- Duncan Robinson
- Robinson was not with the Skyforce this afternoon as he continues his call-up with the Miami Heat. Robinson has averaged 20.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season with Sioux Falls.
- Admin note
- The 905 play again at home on Sunday. Raptors Republic readers can get a discount on tickets using the code REPUBLIC905.
- Yante Maten
