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 The Wizards took a 2-0 lead on the road last spring against the
Chicago Bulls, eventually winning the first-round series in five
games.
On Tuesday night at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, the Wizards
defeated the Toronto Raptors 117-106 and now lead the series 2-0
heading home.
"We've only got two. So that means there's still a lot of basketball
to be played," said Wizards coach Randy Wittman. "As you continue to
move on, the harder it gets. Game 3 on Friday, is going to be harder
to play than these first two games."
In reality, it's the Wizards series to lose now.
Washington is the fifth team to go up 2-0 on the road since the
first round became a best-of-seven series in 2003.
For Toronto, it's not looking good.
By losing the first two games of the series at home, the Raptors dug
themselves a pretty deep hole. Only three teams in NBA history have
won a best-of-seven series after falling behind 0-2 at home.
"We have to play like we're down 0-2, nothing changes," said
Washington guard Bradley Beal, who finished with a game-high 28
points and five rebounds. "We can't stop being aggressive, we can't
change anything.
"We've got to play like we're the underdogs, we've still got to play
with that chip on our shoulder because they're not going to back
down, they're not going to stop coming at us so we have to do our
best to protect our home court and try to close it out one game at a
time."
Washington guard John Wall added 26 points while setting a franchise
record for assists in a playoff game with 17.
Center Marcin Gortat had 16 points and eight rebounds while forward
Otter Porter added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the
Wizards.
"We know for our team to win and be in games I late situations, me
and Brad have to be aggressive, being smart, taking the right
shots," said Wall. "When we're both aggressive and our offense is
on, we're a tough team to beat."
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry left the game with 5:56 remaining appearing
to favoring his left leg following a collision with Wizards forward
Paul Pierce. Lowry, who was in foul trouble in the first half,
finished with six points and four assists.
"He had a good game against Charlotte trying to get back from the
time he had off from his back," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of
Lowry. "He's just trying to get back in the groove and he struggled
from getting back into his groove. You have that much time off, you
don't just walk back and play against two quality guards like Beal
and Wall."
Postgame, the Raptors announced Lowry suffered a left shin contusion
and would be re-evaluated on Wednesday.
Guards DeMar DeRozan and Lou Williams each had 20 points in the
loss. Center Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
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"When shots are not going our way, we've still got to execute," said
DeRozan. "Execute at a high level on both ends, especially in the
defensive end.
When we do that on a consistent basis, we'll be fine. We just have
to play our best consistent basketball.
Forward Terrence Ross put the Raptors in position to make the game
close. He hit a pair 3-point shots Toronto opened the second half on
a 12-2 run pulling to within two, 63-61.
Following a Washington timeout the Wizards went on a 10-0 surge to
take command again.
With just over two minutes remaining in the quarter, Casey was assed
a technical for arguing a non-call on Wall. Wall drained both free
throws as Washington extended its lead to 16, their largest of the
night.
The Raptors opened the game on a 12-2 run. DeRozan led the way with
seven points while shooting 3 of 3 from the field.
Washington called timeout and proceeded to outscore Toronto 24-19
following the timeout to pull to within five, 31-26.
The Raptors shot 52 percent from the field while holding the Wizards
to 41 percent shooting in the first period.
NOTES: Raptors F Tyler Hansbrough replaced F Amir Johnson in the
starting lineup for the second consecutive game. Johnson missed four
of Toronto's final seven regular-season games due to a sore right
ankle. ... Raptors G Lou Williams won the NBA's Sixth Man Award on
Monday as the league's best player in a reserve role. Williams
becomes the first player in Raptors history to receive the honor.
... After their 93-86 overtime loss Saturday, the Raptors dropped to
0-7 all-time in opening-round Game 1s. ... With the victory in the
opener, Washington coach Randy Wittman became the first coach in NBA
history to win six of his first seven road playoff games.
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