Long Island Nets 117, Raptors 905 116 | Box Score
Two-ways: Henry Ellenson, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (Nets), Oshae Brissett, Shamorie Ponds (905),
Assignees: Rodions Kurucs (Nets), Dewan Hernandez (905)
Waiver Wire: Justin Anderson (905)
“I wish I could have had that last shot again. I just can’t get over the fact that we lost.” – Justin Anderson
The 905 fell within one missed free throw of completing a ridiculous comeback, falling 117-116 to the Long Island Nets. By “ridiculous” I mean:
-With 1:22 left the 905 trailed by 10. The NBA win probability site “Inpredictable” gave the 905 a 0.0% chance of winning the game.
-With 35 seconds left the 905 trailed by 7. Inpredictable gave the 905 a 0.1% chance of winning the game.
-With 0.9 seconds left the Nets were up 117-115, the 905 had no timeouts remaining, and the Nets were shooting a free throw. Rather than intentionally miss, which at-best would have allowed the 905 to hoist a 90 footer for the win, Long Island made the free throw. A funky G League rule allows a team to advance the ball even if they don’t have any timeouts left, which the 905 did. Justin Anderson caught the inbounds and was fouled shooting the three. He made the first two, but missed the second, then gently fell to the floor in disbelief.
“As soon as it came off (my hand) I felt like… I felt like every shot felt the same but for whatever reason that one went left,” Anderson said. Anderson scored a game-high 40 points in just his fourth game with the 905. “We use that term for a lot of things. The game went left. The shot went left. It was with my left hand. It’s alright. I’ll battle myself every time with that. My teammates will be there for me. That one that’s gonna hurt, but we have a quick turnaround so we gotta get ready for this next game. It’s over with now.”
As has been their habit, the 905 fell down double digits early, allowing the Nets to shoot 65% in the first quarter. The Nets shot 14-for-28 from distance in the first half, and led by double digits for much of the second half. Despite Anderson’s disbelief in the outcome, the 905 should never have been in a position to push this game to overtime. The 905 sit at 3-and-6, their next game coming this Saturday against the Mad Ants in Fort Wayne.
Notes:
- 905 Waiver Wire notes
- Justin Anderson – it’s special to witness a professional basketball player catch fire. He started the game 4-for-5 from distance, hitting threes from every spot on the court. As part of his 18 point outburst in the fourth quarter, Anderson hit two outrageously long threes, and an And-1 three pointer. Anderson said post-game that he wants to show he’s a reliable three point shooter, and that he’s willing to guard anyone 1-thru-5. On defence, Anderson did just that, switching onto guards and bigs, adding two blocks and two steals. Another wrinkle Anderson unveiled was his drive-and-kick game, deftly drawing the defence and kicking out for a couple threes at the exact time the second defender collapsed on him. And in honour of James Harden visiting Toronto tonight, Anderson drew a cheesy foul in crunch time, getting a defender to bite on a pump fake at the elbow, and subtly throwing his body into the defender, “earning” two free throws.
- “Jama and our staff, and my teammates are giving me an unbelievable opportunity to go out there and display what I can do,” Anderson said. “But as far as the NBA – that’s my dream. That’s why I came to the G League. The Raptors gave me an unbelievable opportunity and I want to take full advantage of it. I didn’t want to go anywhere else. I wanna be really close, because that’s my dream. And if I don’t follow my dreams the young’ins that are comin up behind me – they won’t see good leadership. I wanna be able to put myself in a position to follow and shoot for whatever I wanna to do, and that’s to be back in the NBA. But right now I’m here. I’m two feet here, and we just gotta keep this thing rolling.”
- “Jama has been huge for me. He’s the most positive guy,” Anderson said. “He just allows you to go out there and play your game, play for your teammates, play for each other. His positive energy is super contagious. It makes it really easy. I am just glad I am here with the 905. This culture is unbelievable. Coach Nurse is at the game today, how many times you see that? It just speaks so much about the organization, how much the guys care, whether it is the G League or up top. I am a man big on faith. I just know that all was going to wait out when I waited for an extended period of time over the summer. I am just glad I got the opportunity here in Toronto.
- 905 Two-Way Notes
- Shamorie Ponds – though the roster is ever-changing, it seems like Mahlalela has settled on Ponds playing the heat-check bench guy. Nine games in it’s easy and tough to see his NBA potential. Easy because his role appears to be shoot, shoot, shoot. Tough because he’s shooting 42% from the field and under 25% from three point range on the season. At 6’0 it only gets harder to get your shot off at the next level. Today Ponds passed up a few good shots for tough ones, hesitating on catch-and-shoot opportunities, choosing to take a dribble or two before shooting. Ponds’ final line – 4-for-18 shooting, three assists, four turnovers. The scoring potential is there (he poured in 29 in the 905’s previous game against Delaware), but his efficiency and shot selection are critical (and connected) areas that he will continue to focus on.
- Nets Assignee / Two-Way Notes
- Rodeons Kurucs and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot bring plenty of NBA experience, and a similar game – length, athleticism and reliable outside shooting. Kurucs went 8-for-11 from the field for 18 points, including 2-for-3 from three point range, in just 27 minutes. Luwawu-Cabarrot went 7-for-15 for 16 points.
- Henry Ellenson – the 6’10 forward’s size was a big problem for the 6’11 Dewan Hernandez and the rest of the undersized 905. Ellenson scored several buckets in the paint, and showed some range of his own, going 2-for-7 from three point range. He had 20 points to go with eight rebounds.
- Admin note:
- Raptors Republic has a sweet discount code for Raptors 905 tickets. Follow this link and use the code RR905. https://bit.ly/2pTZgn6 . The 905’s next home game is Tuesday November 26.
