Raptors 905 Edge Westchester Knicks 113–110 in Home Opener
Raptors Republic
The Westchester Knicks dropped to 0–3 after a 113–110 home-opening loss to Raptors 905. AJ Lawson led the 905 with 21 points, four assists, and four steals, validating his status as the G League’s eighth-leading scorer at 26.3 points per game on 50% shooting and 40% from three. He hit the game-sealing three to top off an incredible outing.
Lawson didn’t do it alone, as Alijah Martin added 15, and Olivier Sarr finished with 18. Raptors 905 shot just 42%, but they punished the Knicks for 25 turnovers—most of them unforced—and scored more than 25 points off those mistakes. That defined the game.
First Quarter
Westchester opened strong with a Donovan Williams baseline dunk. Raptors 905 answered with an 8–0 run capped by a Jonathan Mogbo alley-oop and a Lawson three. Their pace immediately put pressure on Westchester’s transition defense.
The Knicks went 1-of-7 from deep and kept feeding 905 runouts with sloppy giveaways. They trailed 16–12 at the 5:12 mark. Dink Pate injected life into the crowd with a crossover pull-back three, then buried another to cut it to one before 905 closed the quarter ahead 26–22.
Second Quarter
Both teams shot under 40% in the first, but the second quarter opened with traded threes from Adama Bal and Lawson. Turnovers continued to hurt Westchester—none worse than a sideline inbound thrown straight to Martin for a layup that pushed the lead to 37–28.
The Knicks clawed back on a 9–4 run, but Sarr answered with back-to-back threes to restore a double-digit cushion. Every unforced error undercut every Westchester push as Trey Jemison’s and-one made it a seven-point game.
Raptors 905 entered halftime up 57–50. Pate scored 10 first-half points but attempted only one shot afterward. Lawson also had 13 by halftime, with 10 coming in the second quarter, plus three steals. The Raptors scored 15 points off 13 Knicks turnovers before the break.
Third Quarter
Raptors 905 opened the third with five quick points before Williams sparked Westchester with aggressive drives. Williams and Tosan Evbuomwan combined for 12 of the Knicks’ first 14 points, keeping the game within reach.
Pate hit a deep bailout three as the shot clock expired, keeping the crowd energized with the Knicks still trailing 75–67. Bal knocked down a big three, and Evbuomwan converted an up-and-under three-point play as MVP chants broke out.
Every time Westchester drew close, 905 answered—Martin drilled a corner three to end the quarter up 88–77 after a rapid six-point burst.
Fourth Quarter
Bryson Warren cut the deficit to single digits with a three-pointer early in the fourth. Evbuomwan suffered a brief injury scare but stayed in to shoot his free throws.
Westchester trailed 105–101 with 1:40 left after Warren scored at the rim. Sarr then drilled a clutch corner three, but Pate responded immediately with a deep jumper to make it 108–104.
The Knicks won a challenge on a late out-of-bounds call, and Pate buried a tough fallaway three with 25.9 seconds left to cut it to one. They sent Sarr to the line, where he missed both due to a chorus of kids screaming—but Westchester failed to secure the rebound. Sarr drew another foul and hit the second pair, putting 905 up 110–107.
Warren tied it at 110 after getting fouled on a three-pointer and sinking all three free throws with 12.1 seconds remaining. On the final play, Martin drove left, drew the defense, and kicked to Lawson, who buried the dagger from the corner.
Raptors 905 improved to 4–0, a massive turnaround from last year’s 5–16 Tip-Off Tournament. Westchester fell to 0–3, a steep drop from holding the best win percentage in last year’s event.
Scoring remains Westchester’s biggest weakness—they entered the night ranked 29th and clearly miss top creators like T.J. Warren, Boo Buie, and Chuma Okeke. Evbuomwan led all scorers with 23. Pate and Warren added 19 each, but it wasn’t enough.
Westchester returns Saturday, Nov. 22, at 7 P.M. ET against the Capital City Go-Go, looking for its first win of the season.
