It was never supposed to be easy.
With an opportunity to play for $100,000 and the glory of being the first team in G League history to finish the Tip-off Tournament a perfect 17-0 on the line, the Raptors 905 knew they were going to be in for a battle on Sunday.
Or, as head coach Drew Jones described: “It’s war. Don’t look to get calls, don’t look to get saved. The only person who’s going to save us is in this room.”
His pre-game words proved prophetic as the Raptors 905 narrowly outlasted the Grand Rapids Gold 103-101 in the G League’s Winter Showcase Semifinal, while extending their historic start to 16 consecutive wins. The victory required overcoming a double-digit first-half deficit and about as many lead changes as there are palm trees in sunny Orlando, where the tournament is being held.
Spearheading that effort was Jonathan Mogbo, who continues to make the most of his latest assignment stint as the sophomore forward put up a game-high 21 points to go with 11 rebounds and two steals on 9-of-16 shooting. Chucky Hepburn also chipped in a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists, while the 905’s leading scorers this season, Alijah Martin and A.J. Lawson, added 18 and 14 points, respectively.
As for the back-and-forth affair on Sunday, Grand Rapids struck first, carving out a 25-21 lead after the opening frame largely by out 905-ing the Raptors 905. The junior dinos — leading the league in opponent turnovers, forcing nearly 23 per game — committed seven giveaways through 12 minutes of play, allowing the Gold to find open looks in transition. Grand Rapids knew they needed to limit their own ball-handling miscues, so winning that battle 7-2 in the first quarter — and 18-14 for the game — was undoubtedly a positive.
The only bit of good fortune the Raptors 905 saw through the opening frame, while shooting 8-of-24, was a circus make from Martin in the final minute — throwing up a shot as he fell to the ground after driving into a wall of Gold defenders.
A moment that not only proved indicative of what was to come, but was also symbolic of the relentless effort that the junior dinos have displayed all season, regardless of the circumstances. In two of their last three regular-season games, and in Friday’s quarterfinal win, the Raptors 905 found themselves down after the first quarter. Yet in each of those instances, they found a route to victory, no matter how improbable, just like Martin did as he tossed up that off-balance bucket.
Heroics that not only sparked his own offensive game — to the tune of 11 second-quarter points —but also appeared to wake up his teammates as the 905 responded to the Gold’s opening punch with a cracking jab of their own.
They rattled off a 16-1 run, which flipped a 10-point deficit into a nine-point lead in a matter of minutes. Powering that 905 surge, unsurprisingly, was the squad’s defence finding its form and forcing a trio of timely turnovers to generate easy offence. First, a pair of strip-steals from Martin, which led to transition triples, and then Jarkel Joiner secured a mid-court takeaway of his own and zoomed down the lane for a blow-by layup.
“When we play to our standards, good things happen to us,” Jones astutely said after his team went into halftime with a 56-53 lead courtesy of a Martin triple at the buzzer.
Underscoring that second-quarter effort was the play of the Raptors 905’s bench unit that ultimately outscored the Gold 33-17 on the night. Tyreke Key and Tyson Degenhart hit some timely shots while rookie forward Julian Reese took care of business inside the arc.
The 22-year-old has been a force on the glass for the Raptors 905 this season (second on the roster in rebounding), showing why on Sunday as he grabbed a team-high 13 boards to go with eight points and some physical defence in 21 minutes off the pine. So much so that it even got his older sister and WNBA star Angel Reese, on board the 905 hype train after she was in attendance for their quarterfinal win.
However, wars don’t usually get settled after the opening moves from either side. The Gold, unwilling to wave the white flag following 24 minutes of action, jumped back ahead in the third quarter thanks to an 11-3 run led exclusively by James Akinjo and Moses Brown, who finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Not far off from the Gold’s top scorer on the day, DaRon Holmes. The Nuggets’ first-round pick in 2024 showed off his entire repertoire against the Raptors 905 as he put up a line of 19 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep to go with four rebounds, eight assists and a steal.
His loudest bucket of the contest came in the third when Holmes drilled his fourth triple, giving Grand Rapids four points of breathing room before taking a 76-73 lead into the final frame.
But unfortunately for Gold fans, the fourth quarter was when the Raptors 905 leaned on their own do-it-all forward, and it’s safe to say Jonathan Mogbo won the battle of the big guns.
The 24-year-old scored eight points in the closing frame, including a pair of timely buckets in the final two minutes that showed just how far Mogbo’s touch has come along at the pro level.
First, he caught an off-target lob-pass from David Roddy after slinking into the dunker’s spot from the left corner and was able to bump his defender for enough room to get a banked-in layup to drop. Then, Mogbo worked into a pick-and-roll with Hepburn, who rejected the screen and Nash-dribbled around the paint before feeding the big man for a tough finish over Holmes. Both buckets came directly after Grand Rapids had taken the lead and were undoubtedly vital for the 905’s victory — and could prove consequential benchmarks in Mogbo’s outlook moving forward.
As for Sunday’s semifinal, Martin put the finishing touches on the win the same way his night started — with a bit of circus-like flair. The guard snaked into the paint, spun away from his defender and put up a scooping hookshot over the outstretched arms of Holmes and off the backboard to give his team a three-point lead with less than 20 seconds left. Game, set and match.
Now, all that stands between the Raptors 905 and perfection — before records get reset — is the second-seeded Salt Lake City Stars, who booked their spot in Monday’s final (6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT) after knocking out the Stockton Kings.
Both teams will undoubtedly celebrate winning their respective battles on Sunday, but it goes without saying … the war is far from over.
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