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This is complete domination by the Wizards on both ends of the court. Block, fast break and a layup to go up by 23 points.
And at this moment, at the end of the third quarter Washington is shooting lights out from the field and from downtown. And meanwhile Toronto is clueless, and they look like they couldn’t hit the ocean if they were standing on a boat.
And in the middle of the fourth, with a 16 point lead, Kuzma, Poole and company probably chalked this one as a win already.
What followed however was one of the most furious comebacks in the history of the Raptors franchise, and nobody was ready for it.
It all started with this pick and roll. Kuzma and Jones don’t communicate and bump into each other. No help defense and an easy bucket.
Next trip down, it’s Kuzma again on defense, and despite giving Siakam a big cushion, once Paskal attacks, Kyle is slow to react and Toronto gets another bucket plus the foul.
Toronto is starting to believe that they can make a run here, and the Wizards are making it easier for them on the other end with a couple of unnecessary quick triggers, and some nonchalant finishes like this one.
But nothing compares to what Kuzma did. On this scramble just watch what he does as he completely abandons the play, running all the way to his bench to signal for a replay. And in the meantime, the play continues, so he just inexplicably allowed for a 5 on 4 possession for the Raptors and Scottie Barnes gets an easy finish.
So now all of a sudden it’s just an 8 point game with a lot left. The crowd gets into it now, and the defense is suffocating.
Possession after possession Toronto clamped down their opponents, and there was no way the Wizards could score.
The Raptors used some of those misses to storm out in transition and get the crowd even more hyped.
Then Jordan Poole started doing Jordan Poole things, attempting this layup as if he’s in an all star game and not in the middle of a close game.
And moments later we got this defense from him and his teammates. Seriously, what is this?
The lack of sense of urgency here is astonishing. They just watched Barnes get all the way to the rim and finish.
Only a 2 possession game, and right now it’s chaos. The Raptors are flying all over the court defensively, getting the steal and this is yet another fast break.
Once they came all the way back, there was no letting up for Toronto as they execute another suffocating defensive possession securing the miss and going the other way with the chance for the lead.
From the brink of the abyss, Toronto completed the comeback and now they need just 1 stop to do the unthinkable.
Thing is, Washington made it easy for them, as Kuzma steps out of bounds and it looked like they gave up right there as you can see how reluctantly Poole is chasing here as he needs to foul and stop the clock.
Nevertheless, Schroder calmly knocks down both free throws, to secure the win for Toronto as this team shows once again why you should never celebrate too early in the NBA.
That’s it for now, subscribe for daily recaps and analysis.