DeRozan scores 37 points to lead Raptors
The Toronto Raptors added another first to their historic NBA season on Tuesday.
DeMar DeRozan poured in 37 points to match his playoff high, and the Raptors beat the Washington Wizards 130-119 on Tuesday, taking a 2-0 lead in their opening-round playoff series.
It’s the first time Toronto has led a series 2-0, and comes three days after they won their first playoff opener in 17 years.
Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 14 rebounds, C.J. Miles added 18 points, while Kyle Lowry had 13 and 12 assists. Delon Wright added 11 points, while Serge Ibaka chipped in with 10.
John Wall had 29 points to top Washington, while Mike Scott added 20.
The Raptors clinched the
No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time this season with a franchise high 59 wins. They’ve lost just seven games at the Air Canada Centre.
But losers of many playoff openers themselves in past years, the Raptors were expecting a fierce pushback from Washington in Game 2.
“We seem to forget our Game 2s weren’t that bad (after losing Game 1s),’’ said coach Dwane Casey, who turned 61 on Tuesday. “We’ve got to know they’re going to come out in a desperate mode. They’ve been here for a few days, listening to everybody build us up, and we can’t fall for it. We’ve got to come out with the same mentality of toughness, physicality and be ready for a confrontation.’’
Instead, the Wizards barely put up a fight in the first half as the Raptors sprinted out to a 22-point first-quarter lead, and smashed their franchise playoff records both for points in a quarter and half.
The Raptors’ shooting went south in the third quarter as they missed all seven of their three-point attempts. The Wizards pulled to within 100-90 with one quarter to play in front of an increasingly nervous crowd that included Drake, CFL hall of famer Mike “Pinball’’ Clemons, and Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Scott and Ty Lawson and a pair of free throws from Wall made it a five-point game midway through the fourth, but the Raptors responded — a couple of key stops, a Miles three and a DeRozan jumper, and in less than a minute Toronto was back up by 10.
The Raptors led by double digits the rest of the way, putting a punctuation on the victory with a thrilling play with 3:38 to play. DeRozan saved the ball going out of bounds, and Lowry threw up an alley-oop that Wright finished in thunderous fashion, to the roar from the crowd.
The series now moves to Washington for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.
The Raptors opened with a 114-106 victory in Game 1, the first time Toronto had won a playoff opener since 2001.