“They were 0-2 to Boston and came out like a different team”.
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“For the most part, I just wanted to be aggressive and get shots I want versus what they’re going to force me to take”, Beal said in the postgame news conference at a table with Wall (28 points, 14 assists). But a lot of it was their intensity.
Added Beal: “We came out tonight with an edge about ourselves”.
VanVleet was the team’s fifth-leading scorer in the regular season, averaging 8.6 points per game, and dished out the third most assists (3.2 per contest) behind only Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. After Raptors wing OG Anunoby delivered a foul to Markieff Morris that sent the Wizards’ forward to the floor, Morris rose and blindsided Anunoby in the back with a forearm.
One year later, Bucks back in familiar position heading into Game 4 (read here): The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Matt Velazquez looked at the elements of the Bucks’ play in Game 3 while also touching on how they hope to learn from a similar spot they were in during their playoff run last year going into Game 4. If both teams play to their full potential, we should have a good game four. “They fed off that”, DeRozan said. “We make sure that we are clicking on the same page and that we are aggressive from the start and keep it up for 48 [minutes]”. For the first time in the series, no Raptors bench player reached double figures.
When you think of players on the Washington roster, Mike Scott is not the first or even the sixth guy that comes to mind. A 12-2 run to end the first quarter turned a nine point deficit into a one point lead while a 22-5 third quarter run turned a five point lead in to a 22 point bulge and the game was well in hand.
“Listen to me”, DeRozan said with a sideways glance.
It is highly likely to see many more minutes from bench players on both teams, as Dwayne Casey always uses his bench, and the Wizards had much success with their bench in game three. Beal grabbed at the ball when Jonas Valanciunas wouldn’t let it go after being called for an offensive foul. They were into us. “There were heated moments but that’s basketball”. Morris and Anunoby each were assessed technical fouls.
The turning point appeared to be in the second quarter for the Wizards, a quarter in which they scored 39 points. Then Wall said something to Ibaka, who reacted by trying to go after the Washington point guard. So now that Beal has awoken and joined Wall in being effective, it’s Porter’s turn to produce.
“That group, I don’t know if you can [put in on] one person [missing] but it’s 30-11 that group is being outscored in the last two minutes of a quarter”, said Casey. “And he went into a little rage”.
“We’re fine”, Lowry said on Saturday afternoon, after the Raptors practised on the campus of Georgetown University in downtown Washington. “I mean, it got physical, but ain’t nobody fighting”. We’re 6, because, you know, Toronto… The team knows the style of play that works for them, the only question is can they channel the dark side for three more games.
Just about a year ago, the Washington Wizards returned from the road down two games to nil in a playoff series. After scoring 14 points and pulling down three boards in the 114-106 Game 1 loss, he contributed 20 points and four rebounds in the 130-119 defeat in Game 2.
And here we are today, with the Raptors coming into Washington having gotten the better of the Wizards over two games at Air Canada Centre. The arena was a sea of red and white, thanks to a T-shirt giveaway.
“The biggest thing was we were down 2-0”.
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“We gotta do things better, harder, more physical and with more focus”, Casey said. “Everybody was locked in from shootaround, the last couple of days, actually”.
