Long Island Nets fall to Raptors 905, 122-118, before another big crowd in Quebec

The Long Island Nets are on their way back across the border Sunday after their jaunt to suburban Montreal ended in tough loss.

The Long Island Nets first two-game jaunt across the U.S.-Canadian border ended Sunday with a loss to the Raptors 905, giving them a win and a loss in suburban Montreal. But for the organization, the trip was a big success. Long Island, who will play six “home” games at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, this season, drew a total of 15,000 fans to games Friday night and Sunday afternoon, the two biggest crowds a Nets affiliate has ever played for and introducing the Nets brand to a whole new fanbase.

The final score was close, with the Raptors G League affiliate eking out a 122-118 win in the final seconds. The crowd seemed equally divided between Long Island and Toronto with Long Island’s French-speaking Killian Hayes providing the Quebecois with a natural fan favorite.

A big reason the game was kept so close was because of the strong play of their stars, . Drew Timme and Hayes, both of whom have racked up double double after double-double over the last the month, Timme with rebounds, Hayes with assists. Between the two, they’ve registered seven with Hayes just missing three times with nine assists but putting up a triple-double as well.

Timme, the 6’10” 24-year-old center finished the game with 29 points, connecting on 12 of his 22 shots. He missed his two attempts from deep.

Timme continued to play his role as a big well, being an force on the boards. He led the team in rebounds with 12, picking up six on the offensive side, and six on defense. In his nine games with Long Island, Timme is averaging 21.0 points and 10.4 boards.

He even came close to a triple-double, finishing with seven assists. Timme excelled in just about every aspect of the game. In true big-man fashion, he also registered three blocks.

Hayes, whose NBA game was stifled by poor shooting, had another big game shooting the ball, finishing second in scoring with 26, his fourth straight 20-point outing. Hayes connected on 11 out of his 15 shots, drilling three of five from deep as well. This equates to nearly 75%. Indeed, he’s been hitting a high percentage in his last four contests with an overall mark of 57.8% and 50.0% from deep.

Hayes also had six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Overall, this was another solid showing for the 23-year-old French-American point guard in a season that has likely put a lot of NBA teams on notice. The Nets control Hayes G League rights but nothing more. As a fifth year player, he’s ineligible for a two-way.

Trevon Scott also finished with a double-double. He picked up 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Kendall Brown finished with 16 going 6-of-12 and 2-of-3, keeping the 6’7” shooting guard’s key shooting splits above 60/40. The newest Net, 6’7” 26-year-old Oshae Brissett, had 14, hitting on 3-of-8 from deep, as well as four boards and three assists.

However, there were a couple of glaring issues, as well. Perhaps the biggest was the play of Tyson Etienne. Etienne finished Friday’s game leading the team in points with 29, and arguably playing his best game as a Net. On Sunday though the Raptors put the clamps on him and he recorded only four points, shooting 1-of-5 overall, 0-of-3 from deep. The game added to the inconsistency that Long Island fans have seen from him all season.

The first quarter of the game saw the Long Island and Toronto go back and forth. Ultimately, the opening quarter came to an end with Long Island trailing by three. By the time halftime rolled around, Long Island trailed by five.

The third quarter saw Long Island outscore Toronto, 39-32, and take a two-point lead into the fourth on the final quarter of play. This came on the back of a lot of threes from Long Island which helped them out of the hole they dug themselves into. Unfortunately, Long Island just couldn’t catch Toronto in the fourth. With 17 seconds left, Long Island was down by one but Toronto won the free throw contest the rest of the way and Timme missed a deep three.

905 forward Eugene Omoruyi added 24 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes. Raptors 905 center Frank Kaminsky tallied 18 points, five rebounds, one steal and one block in 20 minutes.

The game, presented in association with the Montreal Canadiens parent company, drew 7,518 fans, making it the second largest crowd for a Nets affiliate. The largest crowd was Friday’s night’s when 7,715 showed up. The games were a boost for both the Nets hope for a new fanbase in French-speaking Canada and Montreal’s drive to bring an NBA to the city’s Bell Center.

Next Up

The Long Island Nets (6-5) will be returning to their actual home court on Wednesday night, the Nassau Coliseum. Long Island will meet the Greensboro Swarm in a game that tips off at 5:00 p.m. ET. It can be watched on ESPN+ and the YES App.

• Boxscore: Raptors 905 122, Long Island Nets 118 – G League