After dropping the first two games of their opening-round series the No. 4 Toronto Raptors (0-2 SU, 0-2 ATS) visit the No. 5 Washington Wizards (2-0 SU, 2-0 ATS) Friday in need of a win. You can watch the game live on ESPN2.
By losing the first two games of the opening-round series at home the Toronto Raptors have a mountain to climb if they wish to advance. Only three teams in NBA history have won a best-of-seven series after falling behind 0-2 at home. But the Raptors have had success in Washington going 4-1 at the Verizon Center over the last three seasons.
With a 117-106 victory Tuesday in Game Two the Wizards claimed a commanding 2-0 series lead for the second consecutive year and improved to 7-1 in road playoff games under coach Randy Wittman. They head back to DC owners of the third-best regular season home record in the Eastern Conference at 29-12.
KEY INJURY
Raptors leading scorer Kyle Lowry left the game with 5:56 remaining favoring his left leg following
a collision with Wizards forward Paul Pierce. Lowry missed nine of 10 games just prior to the end of the regular season and has struggled in the series with 13 points combined in two games.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“We got to run through the finish line. Sometimes we get a big lead and it’s like the tortoise and the hare, just gets to messing around and chilling on the sideline. We got to run through the finish. Simple and plain.” – Wizards forward Paul Pierce.
BETTING TRENDS
- Toronto is 2-7 ATS in its last nine games overall.
- Washington is 7-1-2 ATS in its last 10 games overall.
- The OVER is 10-4 in Toronto’s last 14 games overall.
KEY STATS
10: Wizards forward Marcin Gortat scored 10 points in the first quarter Tuesday, more than he had scored in any of his four previous full games against Toronto this season.
13: After scoring just seven points in Game One, Toronto leading scorer Kyle Lowry totaled six Tuesday for a combined 13 points in the series.
28: Washington guard Bradley Beal scored a playoff career-high 28 points in Tuesday’s win.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
For the second time in this series, after toppling the Wizards in seven of the previous eight meetings, the Toronto Raptors couldn’t intimidate Washington. They promised to find solutions for Washington’s successful small-ball lineup and rebounding dominance displayed in Game One but did neither Tuesday. Toronto’s offense – the one that ranked third in the NBA during the regular season, not the one that shot a dismal 38 percent in Game One – surfaced momentarily leading the Raptors to a quick 12-2 lead. But following a Washington timeout the Raptors couldn’t duplicate their success from early on.
Washington’s backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal was able to make adjustments that allowed them to shoot a combined 20 for 37 from the field in Game Two supplying the Wizards with the necessary firepower to claim victory. They overcame the traps that Toronto used to stifle them in Game One and were the difference, outplaying the Raptors backcourt by a wide margin. Beal was particularly effective slicing to the bucket and attacking the rim for a playoff career-high 28 points.
Toronto was too often missing its important piece in leading scorer Kyle Lowry, who was limited to just 26 minutes Tuesday by foul trouble and a leg injury that knocked him out midway through the fourth quarter. The Raptors actually outscored the Wizards by nine points when the All-Star point guard played, but in a tightly-called game he was sloppy getting quick early fouls. The Raptors just don’t have the margin of error to play without Lowry and once the Wizards stopped settling they torched Toronto. If Lowry doesn’t play or show up this could be a quick series.
Washington 104, Toronto 101
The NBA spread for this game will be available at BookMaker sportsbook. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
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