Raptors cruise to win over struggling Wizards
Written by on February 4th, 2012 in Latest News.
Amir Johnson had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Leandro Barbosa scored 19 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards 106-89 on Friday.
Linas Kleiza scored 15, James Johnson had 13 and Jose Calderon chipped in with eight points and 17 assists for Toronto, which took an early lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Nick Young led Washington with 21 points, John Wall added 15 while Trevor Booker had 13.
The Raptors (8-16) blew by the Wizards (4-19) with a season-high 68 points in the paint, while scoring a franchise-high 28 second-chance points that broke the record of 22 set in December 2005 against Atlanta.
Toronto cruised in the fourth quarter. Kleiza scored seven points and Ed Davis came alive with six points in a period that saw the Raptors lead by as much as 20.
But Washington place a scare into Toronto after the half. Davis drew a flagrant foul after bringing a driving Wall to the floor in the third quarter. Wall missed both subsequent free throws but drained a jump shot to cut into Toronto’s 10-point lead and force the Raptors to call a timeout.
But that was as close as Washington got to a lead. Kleiza hit a running lay-up to re-start Toronto’s offence and Johnson’s bucket with just over a minute left in the third restored the Raptors’ double-digit lead. Toronto had a 80-69 advantage heading into the fourth.
Johnson’s highlight-reel performance in the second quarter gave Toronto all the momentum heading into halftime with a 55-45 lead that matched the team’s season high in first-half scoring. The Raptors forward scored 12 points punctuated by two consecutive slam dunks that energized the crowd.
Barbosa had 11 points while James Johnson added 10 for Toronto at the half, while Jordan Crawford led the Wizards with 11.
A free throw by Jerryd Bayless looked to have place Toronto ahead by three at the end of an unremarkable first quarter in which the Raptors never led by more than four. But Crawford hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 22.
Wall wasn’t a factor in the first quarter, but found his shot in the second with nine points before the half.
