No you are not seeing double.
For the second straight night, the 905 took down the Warriors in Kaiser Permanente Arena in overtime, winning 118-112. Canada’s team will improve to 8-14 on the campaign following their third straight overtime win and second in Santa Cruz.
Not much else to say that hasn’t already been said
As the heading says, I’m running out of ways to describe Javon Freeman-Liberty. These 30-point outbursts have become scarily routine as he went for a staggering 36 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals. After ending the first half of the back-to-back on free throws, last night he changed it up by snagging a steal and using his breakneck speed to pull away and the game on a wide-open layup.
In the 44 minutes that the 24-year-old played, the 905 were a plus-22, in the seven minutes he didn’t play however, they were a minus-16. If it already isn’t abundantly clear how important Freeman-Liberty’s shot-making and point-of-attack defence is to the 905, the numbers back it up.
He should get a shot with the big club sooner rather than later, period.
Punishers in the paint
The 905 won this one down low clearly. 64 points in the paint was what they achieved and they needed every single point. That was because the Raptors shot poorly from beyond the arc going 9/35 (25.7%). That physicality they used down low resulted in a ton of free throws as well, heading to the line 24 times compared to Santa Cruz’s eight.
Jontay Porter was a monster tonight being especially effective in the paint going for 13 points, 17 rebounds!!, 9 assists, and blocking three shots. He also had a huge swat down the stretch just like he did during the first leg a day earlier.
Other notable contributors:
Kevin Obanor 17 points, two rebounds, and one assist
Mo Gueye 16 points, nine rebounds, one block, and one assist.
Makur Maker 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
The Raptors will continue their four-game road trip making a stop in Portland on Tuesday to take on the Rip City Remix, before wrapping the trip up against Freeman-Liberty’s former team Windy City Bulls in Illinois.
