The Raptors 905 exacted revenge against the Greensboro Swarm cruising to a 114-101 victory in the second leg of the back-to-back matchup. The Canadian team was once again led by big man Reggie Perry who made his 24 points, two threes, 10 rebounds, and four blocks look effortless tonight despite playing through a minor ankle injury he incurred at the end of the first quarter.
After finding themselves on the losing end of a 116-101 blowout Monday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena, the 905 arrived at Paramount Fine Foods Centre tonight with greater defensive focus and an intent to play with pace. The home team kept the ball whizzing, generating several open looks from beyond the arc early to set the tone. The 905 started the game 5-of-11 from deep, but finished the game at a subpar 10-of-31. Regardless, it was an improvement on their 9-33 shooting in their previous meeting.
“[We were] just focused on throwing the first punch,” said Perry postgame. “Focusing on getting stops, focusing on being in the right positions defensively, helping each other defensively and making it tough on them. Just trying to disrupt their offence. We feel like they just ran their offence last game.”
The Swarm shot a paltry 23.3 percent from beyond the arc tonight — a day and night contrast to the 40.0 percent three-point efficiency a game earlier.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. (Photo Courtesy Faz Visions)
Toronto Raptors two-way player Jeff Dowtin Jr. did an excellent job of impacting the game on both ends of the court, swiping two steals in the first quarter and immediately applying pressure on the Swarm’s transition defence each time. The floor general played with even effort throughout the game, acting as the engine of the 905’s offence as expected of the team’s assist leader with 7.1 per game. He produced 19 points and eight assists in the matchup.
Sophomore Justin Champagnie hit his first three of the season tonight, having missed all seven of his previous attempts in the NBA G-League and yet to attempt one at all in the NBA.
“You guys got to give me a break a little. I haven’t played organized basketball in over a year getting back from an injury,” said Champagnie with a wide grin. “It felt good to hit the three fresh out the gate today. I’m just trying to find my rhythm and let the game come to me a little bit more.”
Champagnie finished with 17 points, a three, and four rebounds. He also added a block — a highlight rejection underneath the basket on ex-teammate Ashton Hagans near the end of the first half.
Hagans, however, was an absolute menace off the bench for Greensboro, finishing with a team-high 23 points on an efficient 9-of-14 from the field. The sixth man concluded the first half with a half-court buzzer beater that put the Swarm ahead 60-57, perhaps helped by his familiarity with the rims at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.
Rexdale, Ontario’s Dalano Banton was a near game-time addition to the 905’s lineup tonight, much to the delight of the Mississauga home crowd.
Banton concluded the first half with just four points and as many turnovers. But the second-year pro showed more poise in the second half, consciously taking smarter shots and feasting in transition. Banton’s night ended with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and six turnovers.
The 905 did well to limit the Swarm’s dynamic backcourt duo of Kobi Simmons and Jalen Crutcher. Simmons finished with 19 points — well below his season average of 24.7 points per game. Backcourt mate Crutcher similarly performed below his standards, going 6-of-17 for just 16 points, but a team-high seven assists.
Swarm center JT Thor showed off his range today, making a couple from deep and a couple of long twos in the match. The stretch big is 9-of-21 from three (42.9 3P%) on the season. He ended his night with 14 points, but grabbed just four rebounds and was a team-low minus-22 due to his lack of defensive impact despite his size.
Boxscore: Raptors 905 vs. Greensboro Storm click HERE
Next Game: Friday December 9th vs. the Maine Celtics at 7pm est.
