Toronto Raptors Show Mettle Against Washington Wizards

The Toronto Raptors have flattered to deceive in the NBA postseason for years. In their quest to dominate the East, the Raptors have historically fallen short in the first round of the playoffs.

This is why, in spite of their obvious potential, Toronto remains a team that many observers are not fully convinced by. Their form this year suggests that they could finally win over the doubters.

This regular season, the Toronto Raptors won a franchise-record 59 games to earn the best record in the Eastern Conference. They played Game 1 of their Round 1 series against the Wizards on Saturday, winning 114-106 late in the game. A win is a win, though an unconvincing one from the No.1 seed against the No.8 seed.

On Game 2 on Tuesday, we saw an entirely different game. The Toronto Raptors took a commanding lead early on and never looked back.

Want $250 to bet on the 2018 NBA Playoffs?

Toronto broke a number of records on the way to their 130 – 111 win over the Washington Wizards. A Kyle Lowry three pointer in the second minute set them up for a double digit lead in the fourth. From there, the Raptors simply dominated their opponents.

They scored 44 points in the first quarter, a franchise record for points scored in a quarter in the playoffs. They went on to set a franchise record for points scored in a playoff half, notching 76 before intermission.

Kyle Lowry finished with 13 points, a career-playoff-high 12 assists and seven rebounds. Center Jonas Valanciunas  scored 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting. He also had 14 rebounds and two blocks. As well as that, there were six Raptors players on double figures on the night.

However, DeMar DeRozan outperformed them all. DeRozan scored a career-playoff-high-tying 37 points in 37 minutes on the court.

In the 4th quarter, Washington went on a 10-2 run that cut the deficit to five points. Over the last 10 years, we are used to seeing the Toronto Raptors collapse in those situations. This time, DeRozan stepped up, scoring 6 points in the next 70 seconds to restore a 12 point lead.

The Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards will play Game 3 of the series on Friday.