After being run out of the gym in their home opener on Friday by the Long Island Nets, the Raptors 905 claimed their second win of the season in a 130-115 victory in a rematch on Sunday.
It was the junior Dinos’ first win since the season opener against the Delaware Blue Coats two weeks ago, and the first win on the team’s home floor at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.
Raptors 905 head coach Drew Jones’ main adjustment between contests came in the transition game. After a 25-2 third-quarter run in Friday’s 128-112 loss, fuelled by the Nets’ ability to get out and run, they were held to four fast-break points on Sunday. The first-year bench boss commented on how limiting Long Island’s fast buckets was a point of emphasis.
“That was the key to the game, we gotta win the race in transition,” said Jones.
“We know who we can be in the half court, defensively, but we gotta get there first. So we talked about winning the race, sprinting back, and then being physical and urgent on defence.”
Offensively, however, this was the best Mississauga’s squad has looked on that end. It was the team’s highest point total of the season (130) after coming into Sunday’s contest with the 28th-best offensive rating (103.4).
The main catalyst behind the 905’s best offensive outing was guard Tyreke Key. The 26-year-old has easily been the most impactful player off the bench this season, adding a team-high 24 points, nine assists, three rebounds, and three steals to his tally while cashing in six times from deep. Coach Jones has liked what he’s seen from the first-year G League player, not only offensively, but on defence as well.
“Obviously he’s a knockdown shooter, a hot shooter, and you gotta account for him, it helps our guards get downhill,” said Jones.
“I think for him what’s special is how he leads our defence on the perimeter. Whether he’s on the ball, off the ball, he does a great job being in the right spots and kind of fuelling who we are on the perimeter.”
Kennedy Chandler once again was one of the 905’s best player’s by controlling the tempo on offence and providing pesky on-ball defence. The 22-year-old dropped his second double-double of the year against his old team with 22 points, 12 assists, five rebounds, and two blocks.
Chandler also shot the ball better on Sunday than he has all year. The former Tennessee Volunteer went 9-for-12 from the field while cashing on 4-of-5 attempts from downtown. Jones was complimentary of the third-year guard after another impressive performance.
“He’s growing, he’s developing. I challenge him every single day to be a better defender, and I hope we saw that today,” said Jones.
“I said [to Chandler], hey man, you have the talent and the ability to do both. He defended at a high level, he scored the ball and he had 12 assists. So he’s capable, it’s just a matter of building that habit of doing it every single night.”
After making his debut for the 905 during the team’s home opener, Eugene Omoruyi put together another solid outing in game number two.
The 27-year-old scored 17 points while adding five rebounds and a steal. Omoruyi has immediately become one of the team’s most physical player’s and better rebounder’s, with Jones saying “he helps us” in that regard.
The Toronto, Ont. raised Omoruyi is also one of the better defenders on the team, as he was tasked to slow down Nets wing Dariq Whitehead who went for a game-high 26 points with six 3-pointers.
Other notable performances:
Ja’Kobe Walter, 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, 6-for-12 from the field.
Ulrich Chomche, 12 points, five rebounds, two blocks, 5-for-5 from the field.
Kevin Obanor, 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, 5-for-6 from the field.
Mark Armstrong, 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, 9-for-15 from the field.
Kendall Brown, 18 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block.
Killian Hayes, 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, one steal.
The Raps’ seven game homestand continues when they welcome the Maine Celtics to town and their all-time franchise leading scorer, JD Davison, on Wednesday. The 22-year-old set the mark last week in a 127-100 loss to the Westchester Knicks and currently leads the league in points (28.0) and assists (10.6) per game.
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