The Washington Wizards battled the Toronto Raptors all night, but they dropped Game 5 of their series 108-98 to fall behind 3-2 in the series.
The Wizards led by one after the first period, and the game remained tight throughout most of the contest, but the Raptors pulled away in the final frame, thanks to DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, and a solid contribution off the bench from Delon Wright.
Bradley Beal and John Wall combined for 46 points in the game, but they did not shoot the ball particularly well from deep, going a combined 3-12 from three-point range Wednesday night. As a team, the Wizards shot under 20 percent on threes.
The Panda said after the game that he didn’t think the Raptors’ defense caused the poor shooting, but that it was just an off night.
“We just missed some shots. We thought we got a lot of good ones, especially late down the stretch,” Beal said.
Despite a poor shooting night, Brad noted that they still had a chance to win it in the fourth quarter, which gives the team confidence going into Game 6 at home.
“We love our chances. We’re very confident,” John Wall said. “For somebody to win the series, they’ve got to win on the road.”
When poor shooting is coupled with a -8 turnover differential, playoff games are tough to win, especially when those turnovers come down the stretch. Six of their 18 turnovers in the game came in the fourth quarter, and they shot only 8-24 from the field to finish out the game.
The Wizards now must win in D.C. on Friday to force a Game 7 back in Toronto. Tip-off for Game 6 is at 7pm ET and the game will air on ESPNews.
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