Raptors at Wizards
The Toronto Raptors look to continue their winning ways when they stay on road to take on the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. The Raptors have won five in a row — scoring 104 points or more in each of the past four games — after downing the Brooklyn Nets 127-122 in overtime Friday to extend their lead to 13.5 games atop the Atlantic Division standings. Toronto has won four of its last five road games and sets its sights on beating the Wizards for the sixth time in seven tries.
Washington ended its West Coast road swing with a 2-2 record after dropping a hard-fought 106-98 decision to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. The Wizards have lost two of their last three encounters at home after winning 17 of their first 21 games at the Verizon Center. Washington's last three defeats to the Raptors have come by an average margin of 14 points and it looks to get back on track by beating Toronto in the nation's capital for the first time since March 31, 2013.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet 360 (Toronto), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (32-15): DeMar DeRozan led the way with 26 points — including six in overtime — in the win over the Nets. Lou Williams went 10-of-11 from the free-throw line en route to 25 points off the bench versus Brooklyn and is 25-of-27 from the foul line in his last three outings. Jonas Valanciunas scored 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds before tweaking his ankle, and his status is uncertain for Saturday's game, while James Johnson was a late scratch after straining his right hamstring and also is questionable.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (31-16): John Wall hasn't missed a game since Jan. 7, 2013, but has been hampered by migraines for the last two weeks and was limited to 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting while committing five turnovers versus the Suns. "It's just been killing me, man, to be honest," Wall told reporters. "I'll be all right, though. I'll get through it." Kris Humphries filled in admirably for Nene — who was sidelined with a sore right foot, leaving his status uncertain for Saturday's game — by scoring 11 points and pulling down 15 rebounds versus Phoenix.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Raptors have won three of the last four meetings at the Verizon Center.
2. The Wizards are 10-13 against teams above .500.
3. Williams is averaging 26 points off the bench in his last two games.