The Washington Wizards and visiting Toronto Raptors — two lottery-bound teams — are set for a date Monday night, with each squad looking to prevent a fifth straight loss.
Toronto (24-47) was trounced by the visiting San Antonio Spurs 123-89 on Sunday, losing by over 30 points for the second time in three games.
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with an efficient 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, along with six rebounds and six assists. Barnes received support in the form of RJ Barrett’s 18 points and Jamal Shead’s 17, but the remainder of the Toronto lineup combined to score only 32 points.
It was a bleak effort from the Raptors, who had won six of seven games before this four-game skid.
“We didn’t have any energy,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said after the game. “We were so slow at the start of the game, not dictating anything offensively or defensively. We didn’t play good enough tonight. We have to be much better, and I expect us to be much better tomorrow.
“It’s a learning experience. Unfortunately, a lot of times in basketball and in life, lessons that you learn come from tough times. They need to learn what it looks like to finish the season, what it looks like to play back-to-backs, all the traveling and everything. The only way you learn is going through that. We’re going to really focus on us tomorrow and hopefully bounce back.”
Barrett is Toronto’s leading scorer on the season, averaging 21.5 points in addition to 6.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.
Barnes, however, might be the more impactful player. The fourth-year forward averages 19.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists.
Immanuel Quickley is averaging 17.3 points per game in his 28 appearances, while Gradey Dick and Jakob Poeltl contribute 14.3 points apiece.
The Wizards (15-55) dropped a 122-103 decision to the New York Knicks on Saturday, though the score wasn’t reflective of the fight Washington showed. The Wizards trailed by 31 points midway through the third quarter before cutting the deficit to four points in the fourth.
Washington had won four of its previous six games leading up to its recent losing streak, which is not a small feat for a team that won a combined one game in November and January.
“It was just playing the right way,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “Showed great resolve during that period, resiliency, obviously getting down that much. The guys just continued to make the right play on both ends of the floor. It wasn’t like home-run plays. It was a box out, a deflection, making the right pass. We just stacked those possessions, possession after possession. I loved the fight.”
Jordan Poole predictably has been the Wizards’ leading scorer this season. The sixth-year shooting guard is averaging a career-high 20.5 points a game on 42.4 percent shooting from the field, slightly eclipsing the 20.4 points per game he averaged in his final season with Golden State (2022-23).
Malcolm Brogdon and rookie Alex Sarr each average 12.7 points per game for Washington, while Bilal Coulibaly contributes 12.3.
–Field Level Media
