Raptos 84, Wizards 82
WASHINGTON -- Guard Kyle Lowry scored 27 points and guard Cory Joseph sank the winning 3-pointer with 0.3 of a second remaining as the Toronto Raptors downed the skidding Washington Wizards 84-82 on Saturday night.
Despite a horrid shooting performance from guard John Wall and no field goals in the final 4:23, the Wizards (7-7) led 82-81 with five seconds remaining.
Wall, who finished 6 of 25 from the field, missed two free throws, giving Toronto (11-6) possession with three seconds left.
Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points but played the role of passer on the Raptors' final possession. Driving to the right baseline, he fed an open Joseph in the left corner. The 3-pointer gave Toronto its only lead of the second half and handed Washington (6-8) its fourth straight loss.
Guard Bradley Beal had 20 points for the Wizards, who were outscored by 64 points in their previous three games. Wall added 18 points and center Marcin Gortat finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Joseph had nine points in Toronto's fourth straight win.
The Raptors sank 11 of 24 3-pointers in the first of four meetings against the Wizards.
The Raptors won seven of the previous eight regular-season meetings, including all three last season. Such dominance mattered little when the two sides met during the opening round of the playoffs. The Wizards swept the four-game series, closing out Toronto with a 125-94 rout in Washington.
Wall's floater capped a 10-2 run as Washington led 80-72 with 4:24 remaining. None of the Wizards could make a shot from there, allowing the Raptors an opening. Washington shot 32.9 percent from the field overall.
It took 27 games last season before the Wizards lost their eighth game.
Lowry's 3-pointer cut Washington's lead to 80-79 with 1:19 left. The teams exchange turnovers and empty possessions before Wall sank two free throws with 10.2 seconds left.
The Wizards played their fourth game in five days short-handed with five players unavailable. That included forward Nene, who suffered a strained left calf during Friday's 111-78 loss at the Boston Celtics
Washington shook up its lineup by starting forward Jared Dudley over Kris Humphries for the first time this season.
Whether because of the switch or extra oomph, the Wizards led much of the first half. Porter's 3-pointer in the closing seconds after Toronto's 7-0 run sent Washington into the locker room up 45-39.
Lowry scored 14 points in the first half but also committed four turnovers. Toronto had 13 turnovers in the first half and 22 overall before the crowd of 16,841.
NOTES: Wizards G Gary Neal was a late scratch because of a strained left groin. ... Coach Randy Wittman said F Drew Gooden, who missed his fifth straight game, is dealing with a calf injury. ... Raptors coach Dwane Casey spoke pregame about motivation from last year's playoff loss: "You get a little tinge, a tinge of we should be pissed off from last year, but you can't go living life that way. If we're made out of anything at all, the guys who were around should have that in the back of their mind." ... Toronto hosts the Phoenix Suns Sunday. ... Washington heads back onto the road for its first meeting of the season against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.