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Long Island Nets loses to Raptors 905 as D-League nears end

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The Long Island Nets went to Ontario to face the D-League’s top team, the Raptors 905 and the outcome came as no surprise. The Raptors won by 15, 120-105, after the Nets fell behind in the second half.

There are five games left in the D-League season for the young Nets.

The Raptors 905 (33-11) captured its first Central Division title in front of 4, 044 fans at Hershey Centre Saturday afternoon. R.J. Hunter led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting in the losing effort for the Nets, while Raptors 905 received 18-point performances from Brady Heslip, Pascal Siakam and Edy Tavares.

Cliff Alexander’s run of big games ended. The 6’9”, 250 pound forward finished with nine points on 2-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes.

Egidijus Mockevicius, the 6’10” Nets training camp invite, continued his big rebounding. The nation’s leading rebounder in 2015-16, Mockevicius finished with a double-double, 12 points and 11 boards. In the last 10 games, Mockevicius has been in double figures on the boards six times. He’s averaged eight for the season. Trahson Burrell finished with 17 points, including 3-of-4 from deep.

After a closely contested second frame, the two teams headed into halftime with Raptors 905 leading 63-57, led by Tavares and Toronto Raptors assignee Bruno Caboclo, who scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in the first half. Hunter led all scorers with 15 points in the opening half for Long Island. Teammate JJ Moore also contributed 13 points in the opening 24 minutes for the Nets.

A strong second half would help Raptors 905 pull away from Long Island and secure the win. Heslip, averaging 20.1 points over his last 10 games, scored 13 second half points while Siakam scored 12 of his 18 points in the half. Burrell scored 11 points in the closing half for Long Island, while Hunter added nine points to his game-high total of 24 points. The 905 closed the game with season-high 39 assists on 51 field goals.

Raptors 905 remain the only team to have clinched a playoff spot in the NBA D-League with a 33-11 record this season. The team has maintained a league-best defense all season, currently holding opponents to a league-low 99.7 points per game, while enjoying seven-, nine- and 10-game win streaks this season.

Full-game video can be found here.

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