2015 NBA playoffs: Wizards sweep Raptors with 125-94 rout in Game 4
Paul Pierce strutted off the Verizon Center floor Sunday evening to a standing ovation, beckoning more noise from the broom-wielding capacity crowd, soaking in yet another memorable playoff moment. He had just haunted the Toronto Raptors one final time, applying the finishing touches to the Washington Wizards' 125-94 series-clinching victory in Game 4 with a soul-crushing trio of three-pointers in seven third-quarter minutes. With the Wizards enjoying a 23-point cushion, his job as Raptors bane, which included a mild critique and a flurry of big shots, was complete.
The victory sealed the first four-game playoff sweep in Wizards franchise history, a period spanning 54 seasons, four nicknames and three cities, and ensured that Washington, at Pierce’s request, would not have to make another agonizing trip through customs to cross the Canadian border.
“Do I get something for that?” Coach Randy Wittman cracked.
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The Wizards became the first team since the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 to sweep an opponent without home-court advantage and now await the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Brooklyn Nets first-round tussle for their second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since 1978 and 1979.
What began as a series between evenly matched teams with similar regular season arcs — a torrid start to heighten expectations followed by a second-half, buzz-killing malaise — ended up being an exhibition of two teams headed in vastly different directions. The Wizards made the Raptors’ three-game season-series sweep irrelevant by unveiling a deadly small-ball lineup with Pierce at power forward and Otto Porter Jr. at small forward. The configuration unearthed driving lanes, which produced relentless drives and a bevy of three-pointers. It was, basically, a different team with a memo for the rest of the Eastern Conference.
“I don’t know if anybody really picked us to beat Toronto in this series, especially without home-court advantage,” Pierce said. “So to go out there and not only be the underdog but to sweep them, I think it does send a message that, ‘Hey, you can’t take Washington lightly.’”
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Washington entered Sunday expecting the Raptors’ best punch. The Wizards insisted the game would be the toughest of the bunch because closeout games, they figured, usually are. Instead, Washington was the desperate club, the aggressor with the first blow, and the Raptors could never recover.
“I was so proud because it is the hardest game,” Wittman said. “To get to four is the hardest game. I’m really proud of our group.”
En route to the Wizards’ highest point total for a regulation game this season, seven of the eight rotation players reached double figures, exhibiting the kind of balance they have relentlessly preached the entire campaign.
Bradley Beal went just 5 for 15 from the floor but made 10 of 11 free throws to head the group with 23 points. John Wall posted 14 points and 10 assists for his third consecutive double-double, while Ramon Sessions (15 points) and Drew Gooden III (13 points) powered Washington's bench. Marcin Gortat poured in 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting and 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double. The center missed 10 shots the entire series.
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“I’m the weakest link, so they’re going to leave me open a lot,” Gortat said. “I just got to finish a lot of shots. If I tell you how many times I say, ‘My fault,’ on the court, you will be surprised. I’m trying to figure out. One day if I play a perfect game, I might break Wilt Chamberlain’s record.”
The Wizards, whose lead reached 37 points, shot a blistering 55.4 percent from the field, converted a playoff franchise-high 15 three-pointers and had four players — Pierce, Beal, Sessions and Gooden — make at least three. Washington’s dominance also continued down low, where it won the battle of the boards for the fourth straight game by outrebounding the Raptors 42-37.
The Raptors, still without a seven-game series victory in their 20-year history, were led by Kyle Lowry’s 21 points and eight rebounds. It was the all-star point guard’s best performance of the series, but there was nothing Lowry, who battled back pain and illness throughout the four games, could do to negate the Wizards’ thrashing. By the fourth quarter, a furious Lowry was knocking a chair over during a timeout.
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It didn’t take long for the Wizards to put the Raptors on the ropes and commence the pummeling. They jumped out to their best start of the series, opening a 14-point lead through an intense first quarter. Washington’s offense — a three-point shooting, fearless drive-taking, ball-moving revelation against a bottom-third NBA defense — was as prolific as it has been all year. The Wizards went a scorching 10 for 14 from the field. Eight of the 10 field goals were assisted. They racked up an astounding 15 free throws and converted 13.
All the while, the Raptors, sensing their summer vacation was about to begin earlier than anybody had expected, were displaying frustration. First, a skirmish developed between Nene and a couple of Raptors players in front of Toronto’s bench. The referees reviewed the overblown tussle but did not assess anything beyond a common foul on Nene.
Three minutes later, Lowry confronted foul trouble for the third time in the series, attempting to draw a charge from a full-speed Wall. It appeared as if Wall traveled trying to side-step Lowry and contact was minimal, but Lowry was called for a blocking foul, his second foul of the game, with 6 minutes 31 seconds remaining in the frame. It took another four seconds for the Raptors’ all-star point guard to earn a technical foul for complaining to referees as he walked off the floor, which was welcomed with a fist-pump from Pierce.
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Washington widened the gap to 20 points as tensions flared again.
This time, Tyler Hansbrough leveled a driving Sessions with both arms, provoking protests from the Wizards and a flagrant-one foul. Sessions made both free throws, and Washington continued to outclass Toronto in every department.
“We just had to keep our emotions under control,” Wittman said. “We did a good job of that.”
More Wizards and NBA coverage:
Box score: Wizards 125, Raptors 94
Postgame: Wizards kept their cool
Photos: Scenes from Verizon Center
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