Kuzma pours in 30 as Raptors fall to Wizards, losing ground in playoff race
Toronto's Anunoby and Poeltl combine for 49 points in 119-108 road loss
Kyle Kuzma scored the game's first 10 points and finished with 30, Kristaps Porzingis added 25 points, and the Washington Wizards beat the visiting Toronto Raptors 119-108 on Thursday night in the opener of a two-game set between Eastern Conference playoff contenders.
The Wizards have won two straight, having rallied past another East playoff contender at Atlanta on Tuesday night, and Kuzma hopes the team can find the consistency that has eluded it thus far.
"That remains to be seen," he said. "We come in here and we say it every day, when we have a winning streak, that the tides are turning, and they don't."
WATCH | Kuzma powers Wizards past Raptors:
O.G. Anunoby scored 26 points and Jakob Poeltl had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won five of their previous six games.
"We've got to be all five players dialed in for the whole possession on defence for more possessions of the game," Poeltl said. "We just let up a little bit too much. Gave up runs to them that we just can't allow."
Washington beat Toronto at home in the regular season for the first time since Feb. 1, 2018, ending a six-game winning streak for the Raptors at Capital One Arena.
"We knew this team was going to be extremely aggressive and physical," Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. "I thought we managed to play through a lot of that throughout the game."
Kuzma puts game away
Kuzma essentially put the game away early in the fourth quarter when he found Corey Kispert for a three, buried a step-back three of his own and drove for a layup to conclude a 12-2 run that made it 99-80. The Raptors made a late push but did not get closer than eight points.
The Wizards had a 59-50 lead at halftime that could have been bigger if not for a couple of lulls. Kuzma made two 3s and had an emphatic dunk during his game-opening burst, but Toronto responded with an 18-2 run. The Wizards went on a 12-2 run for a 50-36 lead in the second quarter; Toronto countered with a 10-0 flurry.
The Wizards had more explosiveness and outside shooting touch throughout, shooting 46.7 per cent from three-point range to the Raptors' 27.3 per cent and finishing with 16 fast-break points to the Raptors' four.
The Wizards also had 30 assists on 43 field goals, including a lob well above the rim from Deni Avdija to Gafford for the second of his two alley-oop dunks in a 30-second span.
Pascal Siakam had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto. Scottie Barnes and Fred VanVleet had 14 points apiece, but VanVleet was two of 11 on three-pointers.
"It feels like to me we just lacked some execution tonight in certain portions of the game," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "We didn't execute very well at all at the offensive end."
This is the first of two five-game trips remaining for Toronto, which has only eight home games left. The Raptors are 20-13 at home and 11-20 on the road
Guard Will Barton, waived by the Wizards on Feb. 21 and signed by the Raptors on Tuesday, played seven minutes and didn't score.
The teams conclude their two-game set at Washington on Saturday.
