Wizards push Raptors to the brink with Game 3 win
After the best regular season in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are still winless in the 2015 playoffs. The Washington Wizards pushed them to the brink of elimination with a 106-99 Game 3 win on Friday.
The Raptors took two largely embarrassing home losses to open the postseason, and faced a virtual must-win on the road in Washington, where they hadn't lost in over two years.
They came out playing up to the stakes, jumping out to an early lead behind a hail of 3-pointers. DeMar DeRozan was a man aflame in the first quarter, hitting high-difficulty shots from all over the floor, on his way to a franchise playoff record 20 points in the quarter.
Their defense, though, continued to scuffle, and even with their shots falling they led by just two at the end of the first. It helped the Wizards that Drew Gooden hit three 3-pointers, after having hit just one in his 56 previous career playoff games.
Their offensive explosion was evidently unsustainable, and after nailing 7 of their first 10 triples, the Raptors missed their next nine. They scored just 13 points in the second quarter. Neither Kyle Lowry or Lou Williams could hit a thing and even DeRozan went ice cold.
Continuing a series-long trend, the Wizards turned a first-quarter deficit into a halftime lead, and by the middle of the third quarter they'd opened up a nine-point cushion.
The Raptors clawed their way back, thanks in large part to a workmanlike performance from power forward Amir Johnson, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time in the series and delivered with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
But the Wizards had an answer for every Raptors run, and in the end it was their old friend Paul Pierce who got to deliver the dagger, much to the delight of Marcin Gortat.
Turning Point
Though the Wizards hit a litany of back-breaking threes to put the game away down the stretch, the most crucial sequence may have occurred early in the fourth quarter.
With momentum tilting towards the Raptors - who'd stormed back to gain a one-point edge - Lowry was isolated on the right wing against Gooden. Rather than attack him off the dribble, Lowry pulled up for a 3-pointer that just grazed the iron.
The Wizards got the rebound and John Wall was off and running, and when John Wall is off and running, there isn't a whole lot the Raptors can do. A spin move, and-one finish and free throw later, the Wizards were back in the driver's seat.
Star Performer
The Wizards' starting backcourt has taken center stage in this series, but it was their man in the middle who got it done in Game 3.
Gortat was all over the floor, punishing Raptors bigs on the block, finding open teammates out of double-teams, darting into space, nailing baby hooks, doing grunt work on the boards and protecting the paint.
He finished with team-highs in points (24), rebounds (15) and blocks (4), added five assists for good measure and did a serious number on Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas.
Highlight Reel
During their red-hot first quarter, the Raptors converted one of their few transition opportunities, as DeRozan hit Terrence Ross with a nifty pass and Ross finished with emphasis.
Wall continued to be the engine powering the Wizards' suddenly whirring machine. He had a game-high 15 assists, and this mid-air drop-off to Gortat was his sweetest delivery of the night.
Series at a Glance
Game 1: Wizards 93, Raptors 86 OT (Wizards lead 1-0)
Game 2: Wizards 117, Raptors 106 (Wizards lead 2-0)
Game 3: Wizards 106, Raptors 99 (Wizards lead 3-0)
Game 4: Sunday, April 26, 6:30 p.m. ET
Game 5*: TBD
Game 6*: TBD
Game 7*: TBD