Just when it appeared the Maine Red Claws would shrug off a chilly start and force a hard-fought finish, the bottom dropped out.
The final minute of the third quarter was probably their worst of the D-League season, certainly their worst at home.
The visiting Raptors 905 reeled off 10 unanswered points with help from two turnovers and two fouls and cruised to a 110-94 victory before a crowd of 1,446 Thursday night at the Portland Expo.
“We just imploded,” said Red Claws Coach Scott Morrison. “It was a pretty good game up to that point. Then we made a couple mistakes and we let those mistakes mentally affect us on the next plays, which gave them easier looks.”
The loss was the second straight for the Claws (15-9), who had won five in a row before Tuesday night. The winning streak began in Toronto with an 80-69 victory in which the Raptors (16-7) managed only seven third-quarter points.
“I think our guys had this one on their minds a little bit because of how we played there,” Raptors Coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “They came in our place and got two, so we wanted to come back and return the favor.”
Indeed, in four games this season, the Claws have won twice in Canada and lost twice at home.
On Thursday, that trend continued when the Claws, despite the return from illness of leading scorer Abdel Nader, shot just 4 of 22 (18 percent) in the opening quarter.
Even so, the Claws managed to cut the margin to one (30-29) early in the second but could never pull ahead.
“We moved the ball pretty well in the first quarter,” Morrison said. “We just couldn’t knock shots down. Then the more we missed open ones, the more we decided to force the issue and (try to) hit tougher ones.”
A 3-pointer from the newest Red Claw, guard Cameron Ayers, made it 72-68 entering the final minute of the third. Axel Toupane converted a three-point play for Toronto and Antwaine Wiggins made a layup, two free throws and a soul-crushing corner 3 as the Claws failed to take care of the ball. Toronto, which won the turnover battle 21-5, left the floor with a lead of 82-68.
“We didn’t do a good job of finishing that quarter out,” Jalen Jones said. “We’ve got to look at film and see what we did wrong and try to learn from it.”
Nader led all scorers with 29 points but endured a season-high nine turnovers. Jones had 25 points and nine rebounds. Guards Marcus Georges-Hunt (18 points) and Coron Williams (14) each made four 3-pointers.
The rest of the nine-man roster contributed eight points, six from a bench shortened by the absence of Jason Calliste (back). Calliste wasn’t the only void for the Claws Thursday night, according to their coach.
“What’s missing is decision-making, maturity, playing with effort through adversity and me figuring out how to coach this group, figuring out how to get us into a good rotation,” Morrison said. “We’re not that good of a team right now.”
The Red Claws return to action Saturday night at the Expo against the Windy City Bulls.
“We’re good when we play together,” Morrison said. “We’re good when we give great effort. We’re good when we’re locked in and listening. Those are the three hardest things for us to do right now, which should be automatic things. But they’re not. So hopefully this is a wake-up call.”
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