I might need a few minutes to calm down after that one. What a ride. There were many times tonight where I thought the good guys were going to win, but it just didn’t happen.
The Toronto Raptors lost an absolute heartbreaker to the Washington Wizards, falling 134-129 in triple overtime. If the Raptors won, I would have to declare that the game of the season. But for now, I’m sticking with the madness in Brooklyn.
Where do we begin? Terrence Ross was killing the Wiz, scoring 11 points in 15 minutes. He then sprained his ankle and was out for the rest of the game – if you watched this one, it was clear that having Ross would have been huge for the Raps.
The Raptors trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter, but clawed their way back. The run was capped with a windmill dunk by Amir Johnson, which you can view below. After that, the Raps and Wiz battled neck in neck. Kyle Lowry had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but the ball rimmed out. On the play, he also twisted his ankle. KLOW remained in the game, but hobbled throughout overtime until fouling out. Amir and Patrick Patterson also fouled out, leaving the Raptors bench slim down the stretch.
Lowry also had a chance to win it at the end of the first OT, but was blocked.
The second OT ended with Bradley Beal releasing the would-have-been game winning shot 0.1 of a second too late.
The third overtime was a result of the Raptors being out-manned. Landry Fields, Steve Novak, and Nando De Colo all saw playing time. If that doesn’t tell the story, then I don’t know what does.
Ultimately, this was an up and down game with both teams having their chances to close. This one really hurts, and it’s certainly going to be tough to put this one in the past.
Let’s get to the report card.
Offense – B+
Yeah, the Raps ended with 129 points however I’m not sure how impressive of a feat that is when it takes you 3 overtimes. DeMar DeRozan played over 54 minutes tonight, pouring in 34 points while adding 6 assists. DD finally hit a very clutch shot, tying it with 2 seconds left in the second overtime.
Greivis Vasquez had his best game of the season with a stat-line of 26 points and 8 assists. The biggest problem with that is the 6 turnovers that were part of the package. Greivis turned it over in crucial possessions where the Raptors had a chance to seal the deal. He did come up with some absolutely massive shots tonight, however the L leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Lowry recorded a double-double, logging 18 points and 10 assists (and 9 rebounds). When he was hurting, it was apparent that this team suffered. Him fouling out was the last straw.
Defense – D+
The defense first mentality of Dwane Casey was not present tonight. The Polish hammer Marcin Gortat murdered the Raps tonight, recording a career high 31 points. Jonas Valanciunas severely struggled, however Amir, Patterson, and Hansbrough all had cracks at Gortat and nobody seemed able to stop him. He had tons of timely buckets for the Wiz. In particular, the countless number of And-1’s buried the Raps.
John Wall was also on fire tonight, matching Gortat’s 31. He exploded in overtime, and without Ross along with a limping Lowry, Wall was able to take advantage of a John Salmons cover.
Rebounding – B
Meh. JV had 10, Amir had 9, Lowry had 9. Nothing worth talking about here.
Wait. There was that possession at the end of the 4th where the Raps were up two. The Wiz missed twice, and Gortat just grabbed the rebound and put up the easiest two points of the night. That simply can’t happen – boxing out down the stretch has been a struggle all year around.
Game Ball – Marcin Gortat
As I mentioned above, nobody could guard him tonight. 31 points and 12 rebounds was enough to sink the Raps tonight. He was an absolute monster.
Dwane Casey has yet to draw up a play down the stretch that is actually, y’know, a play. He’s got to get better at that, otherwise the playoffs (yes I said playoffs), are not going to have a happy ending. Let’s move on, because Golden State comes to town on Sunday.
