Raptors vs Wizards: outside shooting disappears as Toronto loses 93-86 in OT

The Toronto Raptors played atrociously for most of their first playoff game against the Washington Wizards, yet managed to draw even as time expired. But the dismal shooting which had bedeviled all game returned, and the visitors drew clear. There was no second miracle. The Raps have given away the home-court advantage, and will need to get vastly improved work from their core group if they want to survive into the second round. Kyle Lowry had 3 times as many fouls as field goals made, which for my money is the worst of the many dreadful numbers the Raptors put up.

The Raptors had an opportunity to race away to a big lead, as Washington struggled mightily with its shooting early. However, Terrence Ross, who must contribute from beyond the arc if the Raps are to advance, missed some open looks. He wasn’t the only one – Patrick Patterson made the two 3-balls the team would score in the half.

Apr 18, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) drives to the net against Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) during the first half in game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Washington’s big men were doing exactly what we feared they would. The Raps don’t have the heft to hold these guys off the glass. Nene, Drew Gooden and Marcin Gortat grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to the Raps’ 2. With DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry a combined 4 of 13, there were a lot of boards to grab the other way, but our guys didn’t pull them down. Greivis Vasquez moved the ball well enough, but his lack of quickness was exposed. He took no shots in 12+ minutes as the fired-up Wiz were all over him. Paul Pierce wasn’t troubled by the verbal commentary from the crowd, as he scored 10 points in Q2, including a pair of long balls. The Raps were behind by four at the break, having surrendered the 4-point margin they held after 12 minutes.

The third quarter was even harder to watch, as the Raps continued to shoot blanks from outside. DeMar, Lou Williams and Kyle had one basket between them. Ross sat down, his day all but done after 2 more misses from deep brought his unhappy number to 6. His defence on Bradley Beal had been energetic and effective, including 2 blocked shots, but he couldn’t stay on the floor after such a chilly shooting performance. JV and Amir Johnson’s close-in makes saved the team from a single-digit quarter.

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Washington pushed its margin to 14 points on a Beal 3-pointer early in Q4, and the Raps resembled zombies. They looked worse when Dwight Gooden was allowed to put back a Kevin Seraphin miss, and Toronto had less than 9 minutes to wipe out a 15-point deficit. Amazingly enough, they did just that. Sweet Lou drained a pair of 3s, the Rap defense was forcing unlikely shots, and the comeback was on. Even a Bradley Beal and-one, on which Kyle Lowry fouled out, couldn’t stop the wave. Amir’s layup, and a Toronto stop, preceded a dramatic game-tying long ball from Greivis Vasquez with 25 seconds to play. Another Washington miss, and the Raps had the ball out of bounds with .4 seconds. Had Otto Porter not bodied Ross, his tip attempt might have rolled in – but it didn’t.

Overtime was upon us, and the Raps’ offense returned to the deep freeze. A couple of barely-contested shots in the last few seconds were all that kept us from being scoreless. Washington took advantage of Toronto’s rebounding woes to cash in on some early second-chance opportunities, which turned out to be all they needed. The brilliant comeback was for naught.

There’s a lot to be said for the Raptors’ grit in clawing back, but they never should have been in that position to begin with. We’ll have a lot more to say about this game, and a look-ahead to Game 2, very soon.

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