by MISSISSAUGA – Defending G League champion Raptors 905 (4-5) avenged a season-opening loss on Sunday afternoon, jumping on the Grand Rapids Drive (4-7) early at home and handing the Drive their seventh consecutive loss, 119-83. Bruno Caboclo led the 905 with 27 points and five other players scored in double figures for the home team.
The Drive never led by more than a point despite erasing a seven-point deficit at the end of the first quarter, and the 905 got back in control and led by 17 points at halftime. But the most lopsided quarter was the fourth, in which the 905 outscored Grand Rapids 38-19. Only one of the Drive’s six losses on the season had been by more than five points heading into this game, but the Drive were not able to keep it that close Sunday.
Grand Rapids struggled to generate offense without two-way players Luis Montero and Dwight Buycks, as the 83 points were a season low against last year’s top G League defense. Landry Nnoko led the team with 16 points, Bronson Koenig (Ho-Chunk) scored 14 and Derek Willis (Arapaho/Pawnee) added 11 points. The 905 defense held them to under 40 percent shooting from the field, and the Drive’s numbers for three pointers made (six) and percentage (22 percent) were both season lows as well.
In addition to Caboclo’s 27 points the 905 got 18 points and seven rebounds from Alfonzo McKinnie, 13 points and 10 rebounds from Shevon Thompson and 13 points and eight assists from former Drive player Lorenzo Brown.
The 905 moved the ball exceptionally well, registering 32 assists against just 10 turnovers. They shot 54 percent from the field and made 12 threes at a 44 percent clip. They also out-rebounded the Drive 41-33 and blocked nine shots while the Drive blocked two.
