DeMar DeRozan Erupts for 37 Points as Raptors Beat John Wall, Wizards in Game 2
The Toronto Raptors remain in control of their first-round series after a 130-119 win over the Washington Wizards in Game 2.
DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points Tuesday to give the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference a 2-0 series lead. While Toronto has made the playoffs for five straight years, this marks the first time in franchise history the team has won the first two games of a series.
John Wall totaled 29 points and nine assists, but he couldn't help the Wizards get a win in the Air Canada Centre, which has been one of the NBA's toughest environments this season.
DeRozan was relatively quiet in the opening game of the playoffs, but that wasn't the case Tuesday. He shot 14-of-23 overall and added five rebounds and four assists in the win.
He was nearly unstoppable on offense:
Jonas Valanciunas provided balance in the post for the Raptors, totaling 19 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.
After finishing 16-of-30 from behind the arc in Game 1, Toronto canned a franchise-record 11 threes in the first half of Game 2. That sizzling shooting helped them score 44 points in the first quarter and build as much as a 22-point early lead.
Wall picked up two fouls in the first four minutes and sat the rest of the way. The home team took advantage of his absence:
Toronto didn't slow down from there, and it headed into halftime with a 76-58 lead. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Raptors' first-half output was the third-most from any playoff team in the last 15 years.
However, the tide slowly started to turn in the second half, as the Wizards woke up defensively.
Washington cut the lead down from 18 to 10 in the third quarter, and it finally got within single digits at the start of the fourth. Wall made big plays on both ends of the court to get the team back in contention, scoring 22 points after halftime:
Toronto's lead dwindled all the way down to five with under eight minutes remaining.
That was the closest the Wizards would get, though, as an immediate 19-4 Raptors run ended any chance of an upset.
Washington's bench was a bright spot, with Mike Scott scoring 20 points and Ty Lawson finishing with 14 points and eight assists in his team debut after playing in China all season. However, All-Star 2-guard Bradley Beal finished with just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Toronto tied the Rockets for an NBA-best 34 wins at home this season, and it hasn't slowed down in the playoffs through two games.
The series now moves to Washington for Game 3 on Friday, with the Wizards under major pressure to bounce back from the 0-2 hole.
