Toronto’s furious rally coincided with the empty possessions and poor shot selection that had characterized the Wizards’ three previous losses. The game tightened, with the Wizards clinging to a one-point lead when Raul Neto’s layup attempt with 5.5 seconds left rolled off the rim and into the hands of Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr.
Trent sped up the floor and let loose a three-pointer from the top of the arc just before the buzzer that found only net, sealing a 103-101 Wizards loss. The defeat was Washington’s fourth straight.
The Raptors (20-30) were able to claw back thanks to a disastrous fourth quarter for the Wizards. Russell Westbrook, typically their go-to scorer late, made just 2 of 11 attempts and Washington shot 34.3 percent in the final 12 minutes, a stretch when its defense was also lacking.
Davis Bertans, in his second game back from a calf strain, had five three-pointers. He subbed back in with seven minutes remaining and missed his lone attempt from beyond the arc in his final shift. Garrison Mathews, who had four threes Monday, didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter.
Not only was Washington not getting contributions from the players who had been critical early on, the shots it was taking — mainly by rookie Deni Avdija, Neto and Westbrook — weren’t falling.
“Couldn’t make shots, simple as that,” Wizards Coach Scott Brooks said. “I don’t know what we were from three in the second half, but it wasn’t like the first half. … There was a good section we were getting good-looking threes. I think even on the one possession we had three wide-open threes on offensive rebounds.”
Westbrook led the Wizards (17-32) with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double in the past 13 games. Bertans added 17 points, including 5-for-8 shooting from deep. Mathews had 17 points and was 4 for 6 from beyond the arc.
Pascal Siakam led Toronto with 22, though multiple Raptors contributed pivotal plays late as Washington’s defense faded.
“Yeah, I don’t know. [Bertans] is on a minutes restriction. Garrison didn’t play that much in the second half,” Westbrook said when asked how to get Washington’s shooters involved more consistently throughout the game. “So I’m not sure, man. They get shots when the ball gets to ’em, and we’ll continue to make the plays as the game goes along. But we’re not running around trying to find, get them open shots. So whenever they get their shots, they’ll get them. And then they’ll shoot them.”
The three-point shooting was strong in the first half. It dried up in the second, allowing Toronto to chip away with steady shooting and big fourth quarters from OG Anunoby and Aron Baynes.
Toronto missed its first seven attempts to give Washington a first-quarter boost that it capitalized on with three early three-pointers, a welcome sight after the Wizards made just five threes in each of their past two games. The quarter ended with the Wizards up nine, and the margin was 10 at halftime.
Mathews provided exactly the type of quick-release offensive threat Washington needed without Beal (hip contusion) and Hachimura (shoulder tightness) to distract the opposing defense. Matthews had 17 points in just under 18 minutes in the first half and Bertans shot 3 for 5 from three in his 12-minute stint before halftime.
