After a very weak first half, the Washington Wizards showed a strong reaction in game 4 against Toronto Raptors and could equalize the series with a 106:98 win (boxing score). Washington survived the exciting final phase even without their best attacking player.
John Wall electrified his own fans at the beginning of the match when he took Jonas Valanciunas onto the poster – Toronto, however, was not impressed and after only four minutes played each of the Raptors starters had already scored. DeMar Derozan was particularly aggressive, however, as he rejected each of his five field throws in the first twelve minutes but went to the line twelve times, scoring 9 points and giving his team a 30-22 lead.
Apart from actions near the basket – mostly from the transition – the wizards hardly managed anything in the second quarter. After Coach Scott Brooks’ half-time speech, the wizard shooters finally woke up. Otto Porter Jr. scored twice in a row from outside, Beal scored 3 points per free throw after foul and put another three on top. Marcin Gortat then completed the 18:4 run by push shot, which balanced the game 58:58.
Beal continued to take the Wizards on the offensive and turned the momentum towards the hosts, but then, in the middle of the third quarter, he picked up his fourth foul and presented his coach with a difficult decision. Brooks chose the low-risk option and put the brand new Beal on the bench. But even without their top scorer, the Wizards continued to hold out against the 14 points in DeRozan’s third and, after a one-legged jumper by Mike Scott, went into the final quarter, 80:80.
Beal continued his strong performance with a fast 8 points, but then he lost for the partly unnecessary fouls in advance: After a defensive rebound Beal DeRozan stood in the way and got his sixth foul with five minutes to play. Brooks had to give up his supposedly best offensive player in the final minutes – the more proud the Wizards coach could be of the reaction of his protégés: The Washington Defense left only 6 Raptors points in a row and in return five different Wizards players scored decisive points. Kelly Oubre Jr. made the final decision on the line.
Despite the foul problems and the premature end of the day, Beal was able to be celebrated as Man of the Night. After a disastrous first half, in which the Wizards scored only 34 percent of their field litters and 14 percent of their threesomes, the all-star debutant made a comeback in the second half with 20 of his total 31 points (10/19 FG). Backcourt partner John Wall also showed a strong performance with 27 points (10/24 FG) and 14 assists.
DeMar DeRozan, who had 14 free-throw attempts in the previous three games, entered the line 18 times and scored 35 points despite throwing problems (10/29 FG). Lowry contributed 19 points (7/15 FG) but remained relatively pale again. The Raptors offensive never really got off the ground and could not tie in with the identity newly formed in the Regular Season. With 33 long-range throws per game Toronto took the third most of the NBA, in this game only 18 attempts came off, of which 7 found their goal.
With a balanced series and a backcourt in top form, the Wizards are now returning to Toronto for Game 5, “If Bradley (Beal) plays like that today, we don’t have to hide from any opponent,” Wall said confidently after the game.