Despite the returns of A.J. Lawson and Jared Rhoden, the Raptors 905 (13-19) fell to the Capital City Go-Go (19-12) 122-101 at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Lawson played in just his first game with the junior dinos in March after spending the last couple of weeks with the NBA Raptors, taking advantage of his remaining active games as a two-way. Meanwhile, Rhoden came back after missing three games with an ankle injury.
And although the Raptors 905 got their star guard duo back together, it wasn’t enough in the end as they lost a third game in a row and 15th of their last 17.
The 905 did get off to a strong start, largely thanks to the play of Rhoden. After he left his last appearance with the 905 early — putting up 26 points in 25 minutes — the 25-year-old picked up right where left off. Rhoden put up 17 of his team-high 30 points in the first quarter while going a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc with four rebounds.
He’d finish the ball game shooting 10-of-22 from the field to go with nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
While Rhoden’s effort gave the 905 an early 39-32 lead heading into the second, the tide quickly turned in favour of the Go-Go. The junior dinos got sloppy with the ball, committing six of their 16 turnovers for the game in just the second quarter, and Capital City made them pay for the miscues. The Go-Go outscored the 905 by 16 points in the frame and went into the break with a 66-57 lead.
The 905 didn’t get any closer the rest of the way as they were outscored in the second half by 12 points.
Familiar faces
It was a reunion of sorts in Mississauga on Sunday as the Go-Go roster featured a plethora of familiar names and faces. Mouhamadou Gueye and Kira Lewis Jr. both spent time with the Raptors and 905 last year, the former even earning a two-way spot and making 11 NBA appearances.
Meanwhile, Jalen McDaniels made his return north of the border for the first time since being traded by Toronto to the Sacramento Kings in a draft-night deal that netted the Raptors Davion Mitchell (since traded), Sasha Vezenkov (since waived) and the 45th pick Jamal Shead (since balling). McDaniels was then traded by the Kings to the San Antonio Spurs who then waived him. The 27-year-old then signed a 10-day deal with the Washington Wizards at the end of February.
McDaniels played 50 games and made one start in his lone season with the Raptors last year. Since then, he’s made four appearances with the Wizards in the NBA and spent the majority of his time in the G League with the Go-Go — averaging 13.6 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 39.1 per cent from distance through 27 games.
And all three of the former Raps made a difference in Capital City’s win on Sunday. While JT Thor led the charge with a game-high 31 points, the trio all put up solid numbers. McDaniels (18 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) and Gueye (12 points, 15 rebounds) each put up efficient double-doubles while Lewis chipped in with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in a team-high 36 minutes.
Key stat
In the end, the 905 just weren’t able to keep up with the firepower and activity of the Go-Go. Capital City entered the day as the league’s No. 4 team at converting beyond the arc and proved it on Sunday.
They made 13 more shots from the field (47-of-90) and were +12 on 3-pointers (22-of-40) while converting at a plus-50 per cent clip from both areas. Five different players for the Go-Go hit at least three triples with Thor and Erik Stevenson off the bench nailing five each. McDaniels and Lewis were right behind going 4-of-7 and 3-of-9 from deep, respectively.
All the while, the Go-Go crushed the 905 on the glass, finishing plus-20 for total rebounds while grabbing 11 more offensive boards along the way.
It didn’t help that aside from Rhoden, the 905’s starters struggled mightily. The quartet of Lawson, Evan Gilyard, Lacey James and DJ Jeffries went a combined 15-of-45 (33 per cent) for 43 points. The backcourt pairing of Lawson (6-of-22) and Gilyard (5-of-12) had especially hard nights efficiency-wise despite putting up a combined 34 points in the loss.
Up next
The 905 return to action on Wednesday to take on the Long Island Nets in their final home game of the season. Tip-off at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga will be at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT.
