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The series is over! The Wizards are now in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs after a huge 125-94 win over the Toronto Raptors. Let's take a look at the numbers from Sunday's game:
Four Factors numbers
| WIZARDS FOUR FACTORS | PERIOD | RAPTORS FOUR FACTORS | ||||||
| eFG% | TOV% | ORB% | FT/FGA | eFG% | TOV% | ORB% | FT/FGA | |
| 82.14% | 19.53% | 40.00% | 92.86% | 1st Quarter | 40.38% | 13.14% | 23.08% | 3.85% |
| 50.00% | 0.00% | 21.43% | 20.00% | 2nd Quarter | 54.76% | 11.26% | 27.27% | 23.81% |
| 85.29% | 19.26% | 42.86% | 41.18% | 3rd Quarter | 50.00% | 20.94% | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| 55.56% | 9.38% | 0.00% | 16.67% | 4th Quarter | 50.00% | 15.48% | 27.27% | 41.18% |
| 65.54% | 11.89% | 22.86% | 37.84% | OVERALL | 48.17% | 14.98% | 22.73% | 18.29% |
The Wizards were able to win this game by shooting lights out in the first and third quarters while holding their ground in the second and fourth quarters. Since the Wizards had a better Four Factors rating in all four figures --including significant advantages in effective field goal percentage and FT/FGA figures, it is no surprise that they won by over 30 points.
The simple stats that stuck out
Paul Pierce makes shots at the right times - The Truth scored 14 points and made four of six three-point shots in the game. It's not just that he scored 14 points; those points were scored right before Raptors' timeouts and at other moments that just deflated them.
The Wizards are continuing to take and make threes at a high rate - Washington attempted 26 of 74 shots from three-point range, well over a third of their attempts. They also made 15 of 26 of their threes that helped pad their margins a bit.
Washington wins the TOV% battle for the first, and only time in the series - The Raptors are one of the NBA's best teams at taking care of the basketball, but they committed 16 turnovers that contributed to a 14.98 percent TOV% rate. The Wizards committed 12 turnovers and had an 11.89 percent TOV% rate, well below their regular season average.
The Wizards dominated at the free throw line - Washington shot 28 of 34 from the free throw line, a rate of 82 percent, while Toronto shot 15 of 20 from the line at a rate of 75 percent. Given that the Raptors are one of the NBA's best teams at finding ways to make free throws. When this doesn't happen, it can lower their scoring numbers pretty quickly.
Kyle Lowry remained in foul trouble - Lowry committed three personal fouls in the first quarter which forced him to sit for long periods of time. He also looked visibly frustrated throughout the game and was assessed a technical foul after throwing the ball to a referee very aggressively at a timeout. Though the Wizards would have won this game even if Lowry wasn't frustrated, perhaps this contest may have been more competitive.
The Wizards have now won more home playoff games this season than last! I know, two home wins isn't that much better than one, but it still means something, right?
Randy Wittman's coaching record in the playoffs - Wittman is now 10-5 (.667) in the postseason!
Moving on to the second round!
The Wizards will play either the Atlanta Hawks or Brooklyn Nets sometime next week. If the good guys can continue to play like they have been over the past week and a half, they could go farther than the second round. But for now, let's sit back and enjoy the series win!