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Milton Doyle had an off-game Wednesday night, scoring only seven points. Isaiah Whitehead came down from his 52-point heights and finished with 23. So James Webb III, the Nets other two-way contract, stepped up and hit six 3-pointers on his way to 26 points as Long Island won its second straight and fifth of their last sixth, 109-105, over Raptors 905 in Ontario. The 6’9” stretch 4 hit half his attempts from deep, grabbed seven boards and blocked three shots.
The streak comes at a good time as the Nets are in the midst of a big playoff push in their second season. Whether planned or not, the Nets decisions to keep Whitehead in Long Island and not activate Doyle or Webb are helping Long Island win tight games. Their last four games have been decided by seven or fewer points.
And Wednesday was another tight one. The Nets and Raptors are the G-League top two defensive teams.
The opening 24 minutes saw little separation between the teams, with the two clubs tied 27-27 after the first quarter and 58-58 after the second. Davion Berry scored a team-high 10 points for Raptors 905 in the opening half, while Webb III and Whitehead both contributed 15 for the visitors.
The third quarter continued to be a closely contested battle, Raptors 905 were able to build a two-point separation at the end of the frame, 85-83 headed to the fourth. In the final period, Kamari Murphy, who finished with a 20-and-12 double-double, would score a quarter-high 10 points to erase the 905 lead and secure the victory for Long Island.
Former Net Jerry Stackhouse, the Raptors 905 coach, was irate post-game.
We had enough opportunities,” Stackhouse said. “We had enough chances to make sound basketball plays and we didn’t. That gave them easy opportunities and that resulted in the loss. This is a tough one for us to swallow. This could have easily been a game that we needed to have for tie-breaking purposes and everything so this could be really detrimental if we don’t find a way to tighten this thing up really quick.”
Doyle played a game-high 40 minutes but shot 3-of-11, 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Whitehead 7-of-18, 1-of-3 from deep.
Long Island is currently 23-17 and if the G-League ended tomorrow, they’d be comfottably in the playoffs.
- Game Report: Long Island Nets 109, Raptors 905 105 (with Video) - G-League
- Full Game (Video) - G-League
- Nets bring league-best defence in 4th to beat 905 - Vivek Jacob - Raptors Republic