Charge pour right corner 3s in front of Raptors 905 bench
Cleveland’s Public Auditorium’s grandiose interiors were built to reflect the hope America aspired to after World War I. Legendary acts from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones have performed there.
Charge fans must have been envious of where the 905 bench sat because it was the closest view to the away team’s dismantling. A masterful performance for the home team. In the second half, the Charge would splash six corner 3s.
In the third quarter, the 905 bench helplessly witnessed Tristan Enaruna (two-way), Riley Minix, and Killian Hayes make right corner 3s in front of them.
On one possession, the 905 had great ball movement on the perimeter, creating a wide-open look for two-way A.J. Lawson, but he just couldn’t hit. So, the Charge moved the ball just like the 905 did on the other end, and found Enaruna in the corner to create a five-point lead. Cleveland’s message was loud and clear: What you can do, we can do better.
After Riley Minix dunked the ball to tie the game, he hit his third 3 of the quarter from the exact same spot as Enaruna. Julian Reese came out to contest and fell right into Olivier Sarr, sitting on the bench. Shortly after, Killian Hayes did the same as Reese came out to contest, yet again. Hayes hit him with a pump fake and jab before draining the 3 over him.
Canadian two-way player Emanuel Miller had 11 points in the third. After Hayes’ 3, Miller scored the rest of his team’s field goals. He hit a big 3 to put Cleveland up eight points. The Charge made six of their 12 3s in the third. When Jarkel Joiner hit a triple to inch within five (Joiner had 16 points in the game on 7-14 shooting, 2-5 from downtown), Miller drew a foul and hit his free throw. The Charge went up seven. He answered Lawson’s free throw with his own to put the Charge up 11. And then, he poured in two more buckets to give the Charge a nine-point buffer going into the final frame.
The Charge dominated the 905, 43-26, in the third, and carried that momentum. The frustration Patrick McCaw experienced at the start of the second half was a harbinger for what would come. He fell on an off-ball screen set by Norchad Omier, and despite recovering and poking the ball away from his hands, Sarr inadvertently got in McCaw’s way. ‘Yo, WTF man!’ the latter’s body language screamed as the 905 lost possession. McCaw’s desperation to attack in transition exposed a massive opening in the left corner 3 spot. Minix drained the first of his four triples in the second half.
In the fourth, the Charge always had an answer. When Cleveland’s Jaxon Robinson knocked down another right corner 3 , David Roddy hit his own on the other end of the floor. But Omier would size up “Big Body Roddy” down low, scoring to give the Charge a 13-point lead and showing why he’s going to the G League Next Up Game (where Alijah Martin and Lawson are also headed). Omier’s one of two triples in the fourth was made from – you guessed it – the right corner, where – guess again – Reese fell a victim. Again! The latter, however, had a 24-point, 13-rebound (seven offensive boards) double-double performance, but he will need to rotate better to help defend the perimeter if he wants an NBA look.
Lawson led all scorers with 35 points with five made 3s. But his most impressive play was a hail mary pass to Reese at the end of the game – Lawson grabbed a defensive board in the restricted area and fired a lob pass over Omier right into Reese’s hands in the opposing restricted area. Pin-point precision. Roddy had 28 points on 10-16 shooting, 4-8 from downtown. Sarr has hit at least one 3 ball in his last six games. In the regular season, he is shooting 41.5% from downtown on 3.4 attempts.
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