Even though they held a 13 point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Wizards found a way to let Toronto back into the game. In a game where the Wizards could have pulled away anytime throughout the second half, they had to battle in overtime to gain a 1-0 advantage in the series. A win is a win, and the Raptors will now have to battle back from losing home-court advantage.
Even with all of the trash talk, nobody expected Paul Pierce to be the one who would lead the Wizards to the victory over the Raptors. He may have the experience and leadership to push this team through the playoffs, but this performance even shocked Wizards fans. Pierce scored a game high 20 points while also grabbing 4 rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Off the bench, Amir Johnson led the Raptors with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in only 34 minutes of play. Kyle Lowry was in foul trouble for a bulk of the game, and eventually fouled out after scoring 7 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, and recording a steal.
The Raptors starters really struggled to produce and contribute to the performance for Toronto. DeMar DeRozan was the only Toronto starter to score in double figures. The Raptors bench was able to pick up the slack left by the starters as Johnson scored his 18, while Lou Williams, Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson added in 10 points each.
To win the series, the Wizards must finish games and pull away once they have an opportunity to close out a game. Toronto outscored Washington 26-17 in the fourth quarter in their attempt to send the game into overtime. Luckily for Washington, they were able to pick things back up in overtime as they outscored Toronto 11-4 in overtime.
The Wizards pulled a tough game out on the road, but still need to come out and gain a 2-0 lead in the series if they want to be able to make a mistake without losing control of the series. They will need to come out stronger and finish stronger if they want to avoid losing to a Toronto team that is bound to bounce back. After hearing the trash talk from Paul Pierce as well as losing to him in the playoffs last season, Toronto will come out firing, but Paul Pierce and the Wizards will look to prove Pierce meant what he said.
