Day: November 15, 2021

Billups rips Blazers after loss, “I don’t think we came to compete in this game” — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

Billups suggested it may be time to shake things up in Portland.

Billups rips Blazers after loss, “I don’t think we came to compete in this game” — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

RAPTORS-TRAIL BLAZERS pregame notes

10:00 (ET) TOR@POR

Portland Trail Blazers

Brown III, Greg Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Ankle; Sprain
Lillard, Damian Questionable Injury/Illness – Abdomen; Tendinopathy


Toronto Raptors

Achiuwa, Precious Questionable Injury/Illness – Right Shoulder; Tendinitis
Bonga, Isaac Out G League – On Assignment
Boucher, Chris Doubtful Injury/Illness – Back; Lower – soreness
Johnson, David Out G League – Two-Way
VanVleet, Fred Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Groin; Soreness
Watanabe, Yuta Out Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain

• The Toronto Raptors (7-7) begin a six-game road trip Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers (6-8) at Moda Center. Toronto is 5-1 on the road this season. The Raptors have dropped three in a row vs. Portland. Pascal Siakam recorded his first career triple-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists Jan. 11, 2021 at Portland. Toronto’s next home game is Sunday, Nov. 28 vs. Boston.
• Rookie Dalano Banton recorded a season-high 12 points (4-6 FG, 1-1 3PT, 3-4 FT) Saturday against the Pistons, scoring in double figures for the fourth time. Banton currently leads all rookies with a .545 (30-55)
field goal percentage this season.
• Toronto had all five starters score in double figures Saturday vs. Detroit. The starting lineup combined for 92 points and shot .576 (38-66) from the field. Goran Dragic made his first start since the season opener,
finishing with 16 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. Dragic was a DNP-CD the previous nine games.
• Fred VanVleet missed his first game of the season due to left groin soreness Saturday against the Pistons. VanVleet led the Raptors with 32 points and seven assists in their win Nov. 11 at Philadelphia. He scored 30+ points for the second time this season and 12th time in his career. With the victory, Toronto
improved to 10-2 all-time when VanVleet reaches the 30-point mark. The Raptors were 5-15 (.250) without
VanVleet in the lineup last season. He is questionable for Monday at Portland.
• Gary Trent Jr. scored 13 of his 23 points in the first quarter Saturday vs. Detroit. Trent Jr. scored 20+ points for the second straight game (Nov. 11-13) and fourth time this year. He is averaging 21.5 points and
shooting .421 (8-19) from beyond the arc over the last two games. Trent Jr. was acquired from Portland along with Rodney Hood in exchange for Norman Powell at the trade deadline last season. Powell averaged 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 20.2 minutes in 349 games during six seasons (2015-21) in Toronto, and helped the Raptors capture their first NBA championship in 2019.
• Gary Trent Jr. (62) and Fred VanVleet (52) rank first and third respectively, in the NBA in deflections. Trent Jr. also ranks fourth in the NBA in steals per game (2.50) and has already matched his career high with five steals three times. VanVleet has led the league in deflections per game each of the past two seasons. Toronto currently ranks second in the NBA in steals per game (10.5).
• Rookie Scottie Barnes leads all rookies in scoring (16.2 ppg) and rebounds (8.3), and ranks third in field goal percentage (.519). Barnes has led the team in scoring in five of his first 12 games played, scored 20+ points four times and earned two double-doubles.

Warriors insist reunion with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn is just another game — East Bay Times

NEW YORK CITY — Draymond Green wasn’t having any of it. “Is that the headline? Tuesday’s the first day we see KD in a normal setting? I’m looking forward to seeing my brother.” He got up from behind the microphone and left it at that, summarizing well the Warriors’ feelings — at least publicly —…

Warriors insist reunion with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn is just another game — East Bay Times

Jordan Bell heads USA roster for initial 2 World Cup qualifiers — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

USA Basketball has picked its initial team for the opening games of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.

Jordan Bell heads USA roster for initial 2 World Cup qualifiers — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

MAPLE LEAFS 5, SABRES 4

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (10-5-1 – 21 Points) at
BUFFALO SABRES (6-6-2 – 14 Points)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2021
1 2 3 FINAL
TORONTO 1 2 2 5
BUFFALO 1 1 2 4

ON THE SCORESHEET

  • Morgan Rielly scored the game-winning goal for the Maple Leafs at 19:48 of the third period posting
    his first goal of the season. Rielly also recorded the primary assist on Tavares’ goal marking his second
    multi-point outing of the season.
  • David Kämpf scored for the Maple Leafs at 2:43 of the first period. Kämpf recorded his second goal of
    the season.
  • Ondřej Kaše scored for Toronto at 7:18 of the second period. Kaše recorded his fourth goal of the
    season and has registered a goal in three consecutive games (3G).
  • Michael Bunting scored for the Maple Leafs at 8:28 of the second period. Bunting posted his fourth
    goal of the season.
  • John Tavares scored on a power play opportunity for Toronto at 9:22 of the third period. Tavares
    posted his eighth goal of the season and 100th as a Maple Leaf. Tavares also recorded the primary
    assist on Kaše’s goal posting his seventh assist of the season.
  • Alexander Kerfoot posted the primary assist on both Kämpf’s goal and Rielly’s game-winner. Kerfoot
    is currently on a three-game assist streak (4A).
  • Pierre Engvall recorded the secondary assist on Kämpf’s goal. Engvall notched his third assist of the
    season.
  • Auston Matthews posted the secondary assist on Kaše’s goal recording his sixth assist of the season.
    Matthews has registered four points through the last three games (1G, 3A).
  • Jake Muzzin posted the primary assist on Bunting’s goal. Muzzin recorded his fourth assist of the
    season.
  • Jason Spezza registered the secondary assist on Bunting’s goal. Spezza posted his third assist of the
    season.
  • Mitch Marner posted the secondary assist on Tavares’ goal. Marner notched his 11th assist of the
    season.
  • Joseph Woll stopped 23 of 27 shots he faced in tonight’s win.
    SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)
    1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL
    BUFFALO 13 (11) 7 (7) 7 (7) 27 (25)
    TORONTO 5 (3) 8 (8) 13 (11) 26 (22)
    SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)
    1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL
    BUFFALO 22 (18) 16 (16) 19 (18) 57 (39)
    TORONTO 8 (5) 13 (13) 23 (21) 44 (52)
    ON THE ROAD AGAIN
  • The Maple Leafs are 3-3-0 on the road this season.
  • Toronto’s all-time record is 84-106-18-11 in 219 games against the Buffalo Sabres and 33-66-6-6 in
    111 games played in Buffalo.
  • Toronto is 7-3-1 against the Eastern Conference this season and 6-1-0 against the Atlantic Division
    this season.
    MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
    Shots 4 (Rielly)
    Shot Attempts 5 (Rielly, Matthews)
    Faceoff Wins 14 (Kämpf)
    Faceoff Win Percentage 78% (Kämpf – 14 won, 4 lost)
    Hits 2 (Ritchie)
    Blocked Shots 4 (Brodie)
    Takeaways 1 (Spezza)
    TOI 24:35 (Rielly)
    Power Play TOI 1:08 (Marner, Matthews, Rielly, Nylander,
    Tavares)
    Shorthanded TOI 2:02 (Holl, Muzzin)
    Shifts 29 (Rielly)
    5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 86.67% (Engvall – 13 for, 2 against)
    RECORD WHEN…
  • The Maple Leafs were 1-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill tonight.
  • Toronto is 5-1-0 when scoring the first goal of the game.
  • The Maple Leafs are 5-2-0 when tied after one period and 6-0-0 when leading after two periods.
  • Toronto is 4-2-0 when outshot by their opponent.
  • The Maple Leafs are 4-1-0 in Saturday games and 1-2-0 in the second game of a back-to-back.
    OF NOTE…
  • Goaltender Joseph Woll made his NHL debut in tonight’s game and earned his first career NHL win.
  • Per NHL PR, Joseph Woll (23 saves) became the first Maple Leafs goaltender to earn a win in his
    NHL debut since Garret Sparks on Nov. 30, 2015.
  • John Tavares recorded his 100th goal as a Maple Leaf.
  • Morgan Rielly was on the ice for a team-high 20 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
  • Pierre Engvall finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 86.67 percent
    (13 for, 2 against).
    UPCOMING GAMES:
    Nov. 16 Leafs vs. Nashville Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
    Nov. 18 Leafs vs. New York Rangers Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
    Nov. 20 Leafs vs. Pittsburgh Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
    Nov. 21 Leafs at New York Islanders UBS Arena 7:30 pm ET
    Nov. 24 Leafs at Los Angeles STAPLES Center 10:00 pm ET
    Nov. 26 Leafs at San Jose SAP Arena at San Jose 10:30 pm ET
    Stats reflect official NHL stats at the time of distribution
    POSTGAME QUOTES:
    HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE
    Q: On getting the win for Joseph Woll in his debut:
    Sheldon Keefe: “It was nice to get it for him. Obviously for him coming in here today, his focus is to
    come in and do the job for the team and get two points so for us to get it out there, regardless of how we
    got it, I’m happy for him and his family.”
    JOHN TAVARES
    Q: On Joseph Woll’s performance:
    John Tavares: “I think he played great. I’m sure a lot of jitters, a lot of butterflies for him. He looked
    confident and calm. It’s too bad we didn’t do a better job in front of him, but we fought right until the end
    and then got a big W so always nice to get him the first one.”
    MORGAN RIELLY
    Q: On Joseph Woll’s performance:
    Morgan Rielly: “He’s a good young man. He’s a smart kid, works hard and puts his time in… I thought Joe
    was really good so that’s great and obviously there are areas of our game we need to clean up. But the
    fact that he gets to walk out here with a win and a game puck and a game like that is awesome and he
    deserves it and is playing hard.
    MICHAEL BUNTING
    Q: On getting the win for Joseph Woll in his debut:
    Michael Bunting: “Yeah we definitely wanted to play for him and play strong in front of him. We had a
    couple hiccups that weren’t his fault at all but I thought he played unbelievable in the net and he stood in
    there strong for us when we weren’t playing our best so I’m really happy for him and I’m sure it’s going to
    be a night he’s going to remember for the rest of his life.”
    JOSEPH WOLL
    Q: How his NHL debut has felt – from when he knew was getting the start until tonight:
    Joseph Woll: “From the moment I knew I was getting the start it was pretty special. It’s something you
    dream of as a kid and I’m just happy I was able to do it with the Leafs. Then for tonight, I think it was such
    a special team win. I look at how well they played in front of me and especially after they came back and
    made it 4-4 and then we just controlled and dominated the game until the end there. So I can’t say
    enough good things about this team and it was pretty cool to see how much they had my back out there.”

MARLIES 2, WOLVES 1 (OT)

TORONTO MARLIES (7-4-0-0 – 14 Points) vs.
CHICAGO WOLVES (7-3-1-0 – 15 Points)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021

 123OTFINAL
TORONTO01012
CHICAGO10001

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET |    PHOTOS    |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: C. Douglas (1) (B. McMann, A. Biega), S. Der-Arguchintsev (2) (M. Abramov, J. Duszak)
Goaltender: M. Hutchinson (37/38)

Chicago: M. Letunov (3) PP (J. Rees, J. Keane)
Goaltender: E. Makiniemi (25/27)

ON THE SCORESHEET

  • Curtis Douglas put the Marlies on the board at 4:25 of the second period. This was his first goal for the Marlies this season. He has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games.
  • Semyon Der-Arguchintsev scored the game-winning goal at 5:48 of overtime. This was his first career AHL game-winning goal. He has goals (2) in consecutive games. Der-Arguchintsev has five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in his last six games.
  • Bobby McMann recorded the primary assist on Douglas’ second period goal. He has points (1-2-3) in consecutive games.
  • Alex Biega had the secondary assist on Douglas’s second period goal. He has assists (2) in consecutive games.
  • Mikhail Abramov registered the secondary assist on Der-Arguchintsev’s overtime goal. He has assists (2) in consecutive games.
  • Joseph Duszak picked up the secondary assist on Der-Arguchintsev’s overtime goal. He has seven assists through eight games.
  • Michael Hutchinson stopped 37 of 38 shots he faced. He is 1-1-0 this season with a 1.94 goals against average and a 0.938 save percentage.

ON THE ROAD

  • Toronto’s away record is 4-2-0-0 (8 points) this season.
  • The Marlies have outscored their opponents 18-15 on the road. Josh Ho-Sang and Alex Steeves lead the Marlies in goals (3). Ho-Sang also leads in points (3-2-5).

OF NOTE

  • This is Toronto’s first overtime win of the season.
  • Toronto went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-5 on the power play.
  • Chicago had a 38-27 edge in shots in all situations. Curtis Douglas led the Marlies with five shots on goal.
  • The Marlies are 3-1-0-0 against Central Division opponents and 2-0-0-0 against the Chicago Wolves.
RECORD WHEN

Trailing after 1                                     1-3-0-0
Tied after 2                                          2-1-0-0
Not scoring on the power play            3-4-0-0
Allowing a goal on the power play      3-3-0-0
Outshot by opponent                          4-3-0-0
Sunday                                                2-1-0-0		MARLIES LEADERSGoals               6 (J. Ho-Sang)
Assists            7 (J. Duszak)
Points              8 (J. Ho-Sang)
PPG                 2 (J. Ho-Sang)
Shots               25 (B. Seney)
+/-                    +5 (C. Dahlström, B. McMann)
PIMS                36 (R. Clune) 

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On today’s game:
(Chicago) had a great start. We were a little flat. They made it tough on us. They didn’t turn pucks over, they kept putting it in behind. They were establishing their O-zone. We were a little slow closing out plays in our defensive zone. They were spending way too much time in there. We knew they were going to come. We knew they were hungry after yesterday. As the second period came, the team started to come around, started to find our game. I thought we just got better with very shift. The team really rallied around themselves. We got back to our game plan that we had success with yesterday.

On Michael Hutchinson:
He made a lot of big saves. He’s a goalie who has a lot of experience. We’re really luck to have him here. He gave us an opportunity today to come back and win.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

November 8: Recalled defenceman Matthew Hellickson from loan to Newfoundland (ECHL).
November 8: Recalled defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer from loanto Newfoundland (ECHL).

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

November 17 vs Laval – 7:00 p.m.
November 20 vs Lehigh Valley – 4:00 p.m.
November 21 vs Cleveland – 4:00 p.m.
November 26 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.
November 27 vs Cleveland – 4:00 p.m.