#SoWizards

The Washington Wizards dropped their second home game to start the season as they lost to the Kawhi-less Toronto Raptors 117-113 on Saturday night. Just like on Thursday’s season-opening loss to the Heat, Washington fell victim to a fluky shot in the closing moments from a familiar foe. This time, it was Toronto guard Fred VanVleet who delivered the dagger on a broken possession with 13.9 seconds left.

It was a slow, uneventful affair throughout most of the first half and third quarter until the zebras got involved. John Wall, Ian Mahinmi and Bradley Beal all finished with 4 personal fouls, and Bradley Beal picked up a technical foul while riled up Scott Brooks enough to get him ejected from the game.

Despite the beef with the refs, Beal had a historic night. He passed Gilbert Arenas to become the franchise’s all-time leader 3-pointers made and filled out his stat sheet with thirty-two points (6-11 from the arc), six assists and six rebounds.

Wall also had a fruitful night with 25 points (11-13 from the free throw line), six assists, four rebounds and five forced turnovers (four steals and one block).

One of the reasons why Washington struggled was their on-and-off play from their bench. The only player to have a productive night off the bench was Austin Rivers who had 12 points.

Once again, the Wizards struggled rebounding without Dwight Howard. They were outrebounded 52-37 on the night. Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam combined 19 rebounds off the bench, while Washington’s starting frontcourt of Ian Mahinmi and Markieff Morris only cobbled together 13.

Overreactions

• Kelly Oubre still has way too many rookie moments out there. He finished with 8 points on 3-of-8 shooting, including 1-of-4 from deep.
• Otto Porter Jr. has to find a way to get more shots, been he has been a lost cause in the first two contests. He’s only taken 16shots through the first two games. Wall took 21 by himself in this contest.
• Kyle Lowry is an annoying pest but he’s also very good at basketball. He went toe-to-toe with Wall, finishing with 28 points and 12 assists.

Next up: The Wizards kick off a five-game road trip as they travel to face the Trail Blazers in Portland on Monday.