Wizards at Raptors
The healthy version of the Toronto Raptors may have enough weapons to defend their NBA title. The Raptors will try to show off their offensive firepower once again when they host the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Toronto was as close to full strength as it has been in over a month with Marc Gasol (hamstring) back in the lineup on Wednesday and it shot 61.2 percent from the floor and placed seven scorers in double figures in a 130-121 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Raptors got Pascal Siakam (groin) and Norman Powell (shoulder) back in a loss to the Spurs on Sunday and Gasol returned Monday, when the three shook off the rust by going a combined 24-of-35 from the floor - 7 of-10 from beyond the arc - in the victory. The Wizards are steadily getting their injured players back as well but are having more trouble finding the win column and dropped to 0-2 in two games since Bradley Beal and Thomas Bryant returned to the lineup after falling 115-106 at Chicago on Wednesday. Beal battled through shoulder and leg soreness to score 23 points against the Bulls but was limited to 27 minutes while Bryant logged 12 minutes as the starting center.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Washington, TSN 1/4-plus
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (13-27): Washington small forward Davis Bertans missed nearly three weeks with a quad injury and is being monitored along with Beal and Bryant. Bertans logged 26 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, scoring 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting, and is averaging 14.7 points in 24.3 minutes over three games since returning to the lineup. Bertans was one of three reserves to score in double figures on Wednesday along with guard Jordan McRae (16 points on 6-of-13 shooting) and center Anzejs Pasecniks (10 points on 4-of-7).
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (26-14): Gasol, Siakam and Powell were all injured in the same game on Dec. 1 and spent nearly a month on the sidelines but are showing no signs that the layoff affected performance. Powell scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting in his return on Sunday but was even better against Oklahoma City, pouring in a team-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting in 27 minutes while coming off the bench. Siakam had more trouble in his return, falling off late in a 6-of-17 effort against the Spurs, but had his legs under him on Wednesday and finished with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors G Fred VanVleet (hamstring) sat out his fourth straight game on Wednesday but could return this weekend.
2. Wizards SG Troy Brown Jr. went scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting Wednesday after averaging 15.6 points over the first seven games of the month.
3. Toronto earned a 122-118 home win over Washington with Siakam, Gasol and Powell sidelined on Dec. 20.