Raptors 905 lose amid the chaos in Capital City

Quincy Guerrier nearly tipped the game into overtime with 0.2 seconds left on the clock.

The Raptors 905 dropped their second game to the Capital City Go-Go, 101-99, on Saturday night, and now sit with a 10-2 record.

It was a dramatic ending to what was an otherwise ugly slugfest. The game went longer than the previous one, and there were more personal fouls committed. The 905 had 21 personal fouls; the Go-Go, 24. The whistle was loose and the ensuing stoppages compromised the quality of this game.

In the fourth quarter alone, there was a back-to-back coach’s challenge, and the erroneous scoreboard added to the consternation. Then, a questionable reset timeout was granted to the 905 without having complete possession of the defensive rebound. That allowed the SLOB play that ended with Guerrier nearly forcing overtime.

It was AJ Hoggard who threw the impeccable alley-oop pass from the sidelines to the Montrealer, and his 15 points and eight assists off the bench ought to be remembered, even in the chaotic away loss. In the chippy first quarter, he dropped a nice dime to a cutting, ever-present “whenever-you-need-a-bucket-I-got-you” Tyson Degenhart to put the 905 up one.

In the second, he had a nice and-one floater and hit the free throw to inch within one, but more impressively, Hoggard stopped the double-digit deficit by showing off his handle, drew two in the paint, and dumped a pass off to Olivier Sarr. This was a much-needed response to the Go-Go pushing the tempo in transition – Akoldah Gak secured the defensive board, threw an outlet pass to Alondes Williams, who then hit Nolan Hickman for a one-dribble lay-up attempt, drawing a foul. 

Jarkel Joiner swished a full court heave at the end of the first half, but the ball left his hands after the buzzer.

In the third, Williams blew a wide-open dunk with enough force for the ball to land right into the hands of a guy sitting courtside, right next to the scorer’s table. Hoggard capitalized on the Go-Go’s wasted opportunity by attacking the basket, getting to the dunker’s spot, and hitting Sarr to inch within four points. Hoggard attempted 3s at the end of the third and start of the fourth, but missed both.  

Early in the fourth, his beautiful alley-opp pass to Roddy after slipping off a wide pin down screen foreshadowed what would come at the end. This was Roddy’s first field goal of the game (he scored nine of his 10 points in the fourth) and the 905 inched within four points. Then, Hoggard scored to make it a two-point game. 

What also quietly stood out was Hoggard’s individual defensive play on Keshon Gilbert. He stayed in front of him as the latter attacked the basket and Hoggard avoided fouling in a game where the whistle was extremely loose. To retaliate, Hoggard gave the 905 their first lead since the first quarter by freezing Gilbert off the dribble, and then attacking and scoring on Skal Labissiere as he came to help. Hoggard missed the ensuing free throw.

Quick side note. Masai Ujiri could have drafted Labissiere in 2016 based on his height and potential. Ujiri took a gamble on Bruno Caboclo two years before. Yes, Labissiere gave the 905 headaches throughout last night’s game, going 4-7 from downtown as a stretch five. He was effective as a ghost screener and screened-and-popped too. But that’s in the G League. Kudos to Ujiri for choosing Siakam over Labissiere. 

Back to the game. Hoggard had a nice PnR action with Julian Reese, which led to an easy bucket for Degenhart to put the 905 up five points. A comeback for the best team in the G seemed within reach.

The return of Sharife Cooper, who had five fouls at the end of the game, really hurt the 905. He scored 15 of his 30 points in the final frame, and the way he casually dominated in a disorganized, chaotic game made him look even more like THAT guy at the YMCA.

He shot a perfect 3-3 from downtown when every possession matters more, including a crossover sidestep 3 in Reese’s face. He then blew by Tyreke Key and scored before Williams even got to properly set a screen. After Go-Go head coach Cody Toppert successfully challenged Cooper’s offensive foul against Key (if the call stood, Cooper would have been out of the game), the former retaliated by attacking Key and splashed a pull-up elbow jumper over him.

“Justice is served for Sharife Cooper,” the broadcast said. The league’s best team showed a lot of fight to attempt a comeback in an ugly game, and their ability to find any way to win kept the Go-Go on edge until the final buzzer.

Toppert and his team walked away with a great sigh of relief after Guerrier’s miss.

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