Raptors get revenge on Wizards

WASHINGTON — The Toronto Raptors knew they’d need a better performance from their bench Friday night than they got in the first game of a home-and-home set with the Washington Wizards.

Norman Powell made sure it happened.

Powell scored a season-high 21 points off the bench, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and the Raptors defeated the Wizards 114-106 on Friday night despite giving back a 19-point first-half lead.

“Our main focus was coming out and playing with energy,” said Powell, part of a second group that outscored Washington’s 44-14. “We didn’t have that back in Toronto.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, including a key three-pointer late, and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Raptors (37-25) pulled back into a tie with the Wizards (36-24) for third place in the Eastern Conference. Toronto also secured a 2-1 victory in the season series, a potential playoff seeding tiebreaker.

On Wednesday, Toronto lost to Washington 105-96 due largely to a 26-1 second-quarter run fueled by the Wizards’ reserves.

With three-time all-star guard Kyle Lowry out for the rest of the regular season following wrist surgery, the Raptors may need more performances like Powell’s to keep their place in the standings.

“That was big,” said DeRozan, Toronto’s other three-time all-star. “With Kyle out, we need everybody who can be a playmaker, create their own shot and get to the basket to do that. And Norm did it tonight.”

John Wall scored 30 points and Bradley Beal added 27 for Washington, which has lost nine consecutive regular-season series to the Raptors.

Despite taking five more free throws than their opponents, the Wizards appeared frustrated with officiating, a theme through much of their season.

“Every time down the floor, one of our players is on the floor and there’s nothing called,” Beal said. “We can’t continue to blame things on refs. But it is getting frustrating.”

Beal took note that five of Powell’s points in the fourth came at the foul line.

“You would’ve thought he was a second DeRozan out there, the way he was getting calls,” Beal said.

Beal’s baseline three-pointer gave Washington its only secondhalf lead at 72-71, before DeRozan hit a baseline jumper a few possessions later to give Toronto the lead for good, 76-74 late in the third quarter.

Washington last got within one possession when Wall’s 3 cut it to 108-105 inside a minute, but DeRozan answered with his own three-pointer from an almost identical spot with 20.9 seconds left.

That was enough to preserve a victory that could prove vital in the playoff race.