Raptors 114
Wizards 106
March 4, 2017 – Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Washington had a chance to go up an additional two games on Toronto tonight with a win and possession of a head-to-head tiebreak. That was not to be as it was the Raptors who instead got the two-game advantage behind an unprecedented boost from Norman Powell, 21 points, who the Wizards could not stay in front of. Couple that with DeMar DeRozan going for 32 points and a season-high three three-pointers and Washington had a tough going when shots were not falling for themselves. The Wizards fell 114-106 to the disappointment of many including themselves.
1st quarter
Before even half the Verizon Center faithful were in their seats, John Wall got the party started with a three from the top of the key. It was a sign of things to come in the first quarter as Wall had 16 points on 5 of 8 shooting in the frame including three three-pointers.
The bad news for Washington was the rest of the starters were not seeing the bottom of the basket early. The Wizards four other starters were just 1 of 10 from the field. On the other hand, Toronto had a well-balanced scoring attack from their starters as all five had a bucket. Serge Ibaka led the way with 9 points, while Patrick Patterson hit a couple three-pointers after not scoring on Wednesday. The 27.5 percentage point difference in field goal shooting meant a 35-27 lead for the road team.
2nd quarter
Remember the bench unit that went on a 26-1 run against the Raptors on Wednesday? Seems like they did not exist in the second quarter as newly signed Brandon Jennings was running the points. Not to say that it was Jennings’ fault, but the bench was stagnant and without flow leading to a terrible shooting percentage. On the flip side, Toronto was still shooting above 60 percent from the field and feeling good about themselves with a 50-31 lead behind a 15-4 run.
Just because the non-Wall players were off to a slow start did not mean they would be cold all game. With the starters back into the game with eight minutes left in the half, they went on a run to make things competitive again. Washington went on a 15-2 run to cut the at one point 19-point deficit down to 6. Bradley Beal started to make his presence felt with 10 second quarter points including a couple of three-pointers. At intermission, Toronto still maintained a 62-53 advantage.
3rd quarter
After quarters of 62.5 (15 of 24) and 53.8 (7 of 13) percent shooting from the field for Toronto, the Wizards defense was finally able to lock in and hold the road team to just 31.8 percent shooting in the third quarter. This allowed Washington to slowly mount their comeback attempt as no one for the Raptors had more than five points in the quarter.
The Wizards put together a 19-7 run early in the quarter to take a one point lead with 3:33 to play, but there were a ton of chip shots that just did not go down that could have otherwise blown this game wide open. Regardless of the unkind rims, Washington was able to go into the fourth quarter down just one at 79-78.
4th quarter
The fourth quarter was the same story over and over again. Washington got close to overtaking the lead or cutting into the lead and Toronto came right back and stretched things back out. From 8:45 to 3:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Wizards and Raptors exchanged back-to-back, no Drake pun intended, points either from the field or at the free throw line.
When Norman Powell hit a three-pointer with 90 seconds to play to put Toronto up 8, a “sold out” Verizon Center crowd started to head for the exits. They paused up the exit stairs as Washington quickly responded with a 7-2 run in 48 seconds culminating with a Wall three to cut the deficit to three. With just a couple seconds on the shot clock, DeMar DeRozan made a season-high third three-pointer to put the dagger in the Wizards. Washington lost the game 114-106 along with the all-important season series.
#WizRaptors in a Tweet
The Game’s Top Performer
Bradley Beal – 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
If the game ended after the first quarter, John Wall would have run away with the honor, but the Wizards point guard finished the game just 4 of 17 from the field. Beal on the contrary came on late and finished 10 of 21 from the field. The recently paid guard also had a season-high seven rebounds.
A forgettable night for…
Bojan Bogdanovic
In no way should this game be indicative of how Bogdanovic will play down the stretch once he is fully incorporated with the team, but a game after shooting 6 of 7 from three and scoring 27 points, the Croatian was just 1 of 5 from the field for six points.
Key Stat of the Night
At the end of the day, the NBA is a make or miss league. Washington shot the ball at a miserable 37 percent clip, 34 of 92. The Wizards missed more shots in the paint than usual, 16 of 42, which was only two percentage points better than their outside the paint shooting, 18 of 50. Toronto on the other hand shot 50.6 percent from the field.
What’s next?
Before the Wizards head west, they will have one more home game against the Orlando Magic on Sunday at 5 p.m. The season series is unlikely mean much, but from a pride standpoint, Washington will not want to lose a third game to a losing Orlando team this season. It would be embarrassing to come out flat against a team that has already beaten them twice this season when considering the rough month of March that they are starting to get in the swing of.