Long Island Nets lose sixth straight, this time in overtime to Raptors 905

Another tough loss to swallow for the Long Island Nets ... this one in overtime. The Nets dropped their sixth straight game, 112-111, to the Toronto Raptors G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.

Deng Adel, who played with the Raptors 905 during the 2018-19 season, had another impressive outing, recording a double-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists in 26 minutes of play. Adel shot 6-of-13 from the field and 0-of-4 from three. Adel has been up-and-down all season, but with both Nets two-ways —Henry Ellenson and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot— with Brooklyn, the 6’7” forward stepped up.

Here’s a highlight reel...

Rodions Kurucs, who’s been yo-yoing between the NBA and G League, had a good outing for the Nets scoring 13 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and handout four assists in 32 minutes of play. Kurucs shot 6-of-16 from the field and 1-of-6 from three.

As they have in their losing streak, consistency was an issue Friday night in suburban Toronto.

C.J. Williams had a quiet first half but came out scoring late. The 6’5” small forward ended his night with 19 points, nine rebounds, and two assists in 29 minutes of play. The veteran hit multiple big shots late in the fourth and in overtime.

John Egbunu recorded another double-double, but he did most of his damage early. The 6’11” Florida product recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of play.

As a team, the Nets again had trouble from three in the loss. In fact, the Nets did not make a single three in the second and third quarters. Long Island finished the night shooting 9-of-42 from behind the arc and 45-of-102 from the field. The Nets also recorded 14 turnovers in the loss.

For the Raptors 905, the team was without their top scorer, Devin Robinson. Robinson is averaging 23.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the G League. In addition, the Raptors 905 did not have Oshae Brissett, who had been called up by the Toronto Raptors leaving the team with only eight healthy players. Didn’t matter. Those who were available played a smart game.

The Raptors had five players in double-figures in the win. Shamorie Ponds, the St. John’s product, led the way with 29 points, five rebounds, and one assist. Justin Anderson, who has played 61 NBA games, scored 25 points, six rebounds, and one assist in the win.

As a team, the Raptors 905 shot 42-of-93 from the field and 14-of-48 from three to improve to 3-4.

The Nets opened the game going on an 8-0 run focusing their offense inside the lane. Long Island maintained a good lead early in the first but Raptors 905 came back, going on a 9-2 run to cut their deficit to only three with 4:10 left. Throughout the first, Raptors 905 struggled to defend Egbunu and on the battle for the boards.

At the end of one, the Nets led 32-30.

Adel led all scorers with 10 points in seven minutes of play followed by Egbunu with eight points and three rebounds. Rodions Kurucs had a quiet first quarter scoring three points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field in seven minutes of play. As a team, the Nets tallied five turnovers in the first.

The Raptors had a strong start to the second quarter, outscoring the Nets 11-4. Unlike the first, the Nets were not taking the offense inside the arc and instead shooting from three. Long Island opened the quarter going 1-of-7 from the field, highly due to three-point shooting. Following a timeout by Nets coach Shaun Fein with seven minutes remaining, the Nets mixed up the offensive strategy.

Despite the change, the Raptors played good defense, forcing Long Island into tough shots. In addition, the Raptors 905 found their answer to limit the Nets pick-and-roll opportunities, which played a big role in their comeback. Raptors 905 outscored the Nets 28-16 in the second quarter.

At the end of the first half, the Nets trailed 58-48.

Adel continued his strong play against his former squad recording 14 points, four rebounds, and one assist on 5-of-11 shooting from the field but shot 0-of-4 from three. Kurucs picked up his offensive play in the second, totaling seven points, four rebounds, and three assists in 16 minutes. Egbunu went scoreless in the second quarter. Long Island only had one player in double-figures, while Raptors 905 had three players in double-figures.

As a team, the Nets shot 20-of-43 (43 percent) from the field and a rough 2-of-20 (10 percent) from three. The Nets tallied eight first half turnovers.

The Raptors 905 opened the second half playing tight defense and on the offensive end, hitting their three’s. Meanwhile, the Nets could not find any rhythm with their three ball. Frustration started to grow for Long Island in the closing minutes of the third. The Nets could not buy one three throughout the whole quarter while Raptors 905 struggled to shoot consistently as well.

At the end of the third, Long Island trailed 80-68.

The Nets, after shooting 0-of-9 from three, entered the fourth shooting 2-of-29 from three (seven percent) while shooting 28-of-71 from the field (39 percent). Long Island scored 54 of their 68 points in the paint.

Long Island made two three’s to open the fourth quarter, cutting their deficit to 10 with 9:08 left in the game. The Nets started to gain momentum behind Adel, who continued his strong play against his former G League team. With 7:27 left in the fourth, the Nets trailed by only seven, leading to Raptors 905 to call a timeout.

With six minutes remaining, Ennis was immediately ejected from the game for arguing a no-call then tossing the ball at an official. His ejection played huge in the Nets favor as the Nets started a small-scoring run, cutting their deficit to only three points.

The Nets took the lead with 3:59 left in the game, which was their first lead since the second quarter. As Long island took their first lead since the second quarter, Raptors 905 started to heat up from behind the arc, building their lead back to seven points with 2:00 left in the game. The Nets quickly came back and after Jawun Evans missed two free throws, the Nets trailed by only one with 19.9 seconds left in the game. After a timeout by Fein, Williams hit a three with 15.0 seconds left to give the Nets a two point lead but was followed by a layup by the Raptors tying the game. After an Adel three-quarter court heave, the game went to overtime.

Adel opened up overtime play connecting on an and-one layup, giving Long Island a 111-108 lead. Following the and-one, Raptors 905 scored on back-to-back plays to take a one point lead with 13.0 left in overtime. In the last possession, Williams missed a three while Kurucs quickly shot up a fadeaway off the rebound but could not connect as the buzzer went off and The Nets lose their sixth straight game, 112-111.

The Nets look to snap their six game losing streak on Sunday Dec. 1 when they face the Maine Red Claws in Portland, Maine.

• Game Report: Raptors 905 112, Long Island Nets 111 (with Video) - G League