Snow. More and more snow. It was white and cold heading into the Paramount Fine Foods Centre on Saturday afternoon. It soon became red hot inside as the Raptors 905, in their red jerseys, got off to a scorching start to the game. A game that generated many highlights:
Recap
The 905 came out of the gates flying, with the ball whipping around from one side of the floor. With 12 assists on 18 baskets, it was a pleasure to watch. While newly acquired Wade Baldwin IV, playing in his second game withe the 905, was the spark plug with 15 points on 6-8 shooting, Chris Boucher was also in double digits with 11 points on 4-5 shooting. Meanwhile, Jordan Loyd, with 2 points and no field goals, played facilitator with 4 assists. After one, the 905 held an impressive 37-23 lead.
It was more of the same, even more, in the second quarter as the 905 scored a blissing 42 points. This time it was Derek Cook Jr. leading the way with 12 points (5-6) in the quarter. The 905 also kept the ball moving, assisting on amazing 13 of 16 baskets in the quarter. With a single field goal each, Baldwin and Loyd had 4 and 3 assists, respectively, in the second. At the half, the 905 led 79-50.
The 905 cooled down in the third, shooting 38.5% (10-26) from the field. Six out of the their 10 field goals were still assisted though. Behind 13 points in the quarter from Jordan McRae, the Go-Go outscored the 905 31-23 and closed the gap, relatively speaking, to 102-81
The Go-Go, who outscored the 905 38-33 in the fourth, continued to close the gap in the quarter until the 905 eventually closed the door and finished their Saturday afternoon with an impressive 135-119 win. "The second half, we let them score too much but right when it go close we were able to gear it up again and create a bit of margin" said Coach Jama Mahlalea after the game.
Post Game Quote
A really good team performance, basketball is fun to watch when that happens - especially in the first half.
Raptors 905 Coach Jama Mahlalea on the 905 's balanced offence
Notes
Who likes short shorts?
Towards the end fo the second quarter, Boucher seemed to get into it a little bit with the Go-Go bench: "You mad or something bro". First time I have seen Boucher that vocal on the court. Jama had a couple words for Boucher as he crossed half-court and Boucher quickly settled down.
McRae scores a lot of points. Forty four in this game (15-26) to be exact. In fact he just set a G League record with 10 straight games with 30+ points.
Next Game
Raptors 905 @ Salt Lake City Stars
Lifetime Activities Center-Bruin Arena
Monday, March 4, 2019 @ 9:00 pm ET
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