Raptors crumble in 4th quarter to let Wizards even up series

The Toronto Raptors noticed their playoff series lead disappear on Sunday. Bradley Beal scored 31 factors, whereas John Wall had 27, and the Washington Wizards beat Toronto 106-98 to tie their opening-round Japanese Convention series at two video games apiece. DeMar DeRozan had 35 factors to prime Toronto, however it wasn’t be sufficient. Kyle Lowry had 19 factors and 7 assists, Jonas Valancunas had 11 factors, Jakob Poeltl completed with 10 and Serge Ibaka grabbed 10 rebounds. Sport 5 is Wednesday in Toronto, the place the Raptors misplaced simply seven video games in the common season, then the series returns to Washington for Sport 6 on Friday. The Raptors raced out to an early 12-point lead, and held on till halfway by the third quarter of what became a nailbiter. A Mike Scott basket on the third-quarter buzzer despatched the sport into the fourth all tied up at 80-80. Toronto opened the fourth with an 8-Zero run capped by a steal and basket by Delon Wright. However the Wizards responded, and when Marcin Gortat threw down an enormous dunk — after which beat his chest and roared — it tied the sport with 5:40 to play. Raptors cannot take benefit The Raptors caught a break when Beal fouled out with 5 minutes to play. Wizards coach Scott Brooks was furious on the name, and the group chanted “Ref you suck!” Wall pounced on a Raptors turnover with 1:57 to play and his basket gave the Wizards a three-point lead. With the noisy crowd on its toes, Wall calmly drained a jumper that gave the Wizards a six-point lead with a minute to play. Kelly Oubre iced the victory with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left, whereas a inventory photograph of a sad-looking Drake flashed on the jumbotron. John Wall and Bradley Beal mix for 58 factors to tie the Wizards and Raptors 2-2!

Toronto blew a 14-point lead, tied for the 2nd-largest blown lead in Raptors franchise postseason historical past. Their 18 4th quarter factors are their fewest in any quarter this series. pic.twitter.com/etQD0AckMv —@ESPNStatsInfo Turnovers proved pricey for Toronto for the second straight night time, with the Raptors coughing up 19 factors on 18 giveaways, together with 11 in the primary half. The towel-waving Capital One Area crowd was dotted with pockets of Raptors followers, and included Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman and Toronto rapper Kardinal Offishall. They have been handled to an entertaining sport that even featured some comedic aid from Lowry. Gortat misplaced a shoe in the primary half when his shot was blocked by Serge Ibaka. Lowry picked up Gortat’s shoe and helpfully untied it earlier than handing it again with a pleasant pat on Gortat’s bottom. House cooking The Raptors had anticipated the Wizards to put up a fierce battle on their dwelling courtroom, the place they pulled even with Boston after trailing 2-0 in final 12 months’s playoffs. The Celtics went on to win the series. The Raptors dominated Washington in Video games 1 and a pair of, successful by scores of 114-106 and 130-119. However they misplaced Sport 3 122-103, giving up 56 mixed factors to Wall and Beal, and 28 factors on 19 turnovers. DeRozan scored all 9 of his first-quarter factors on free throws, and OG Anunoby began with the identical steely nerves he is proven all series. Throughout a 16-second stretch, the rookie had a layup, a steal and a dunk that gave the Raptors a nine-point lead. The Raptors would lead by 11 and took a 30-22 lead into the second. Early by the second, Wright blocked Wall with such drive it knocked the all-star on his again. Wright then fed a sprinting Pascal Siakam who completed with an enormous dunk, bringing the gamers on the bench to their toes roaring their approval. The sequence put Toronto forward by 11 factors, and the Raptors took a 51-40 lead into halftime. Otto Porter Jr. had eight factors in three-and-a-half minutes to begin the third, and the Wizards tied the sport 58-58 with 8:10 left in the quarter. Beal drained a 3 to give the Wizards their first lead of the sport three minutes later. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors-washington-wizards-game-4-1.4630541?cmp=rss