Not long ago, radio phone lines burned with anger directed at the coach and wonder about where the Washington Wizards were going. A hope-filled first half of the season was coming undone. Irritated chatter among the players — debates about defensive coverages and who was shooting when — seeped through the feel-good brewed from the team’s 31-15 start.
Then, this series happened. The first sweep of a seven-game series in franchise history was emphatic and unrelenting. Sunday night’s 125-94 win over the Toronto Raptors put the Wizards into the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second consecutive season. It was the first time since the Wizards were consistently potent, 1977-78 and 1978-79, that they advanced in consecutive seasons to the conference semifinals. Up next is either the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks or the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets. Atlanta leads the series, 2-1, with Game 4 to be played Monday night.
“Real proud, because it is the hardest game,” coach Randy Wittman said. “To get to four is the hardest game. I’m really proud of our group because they were locked in. … They’ve been as locked in and in tune to what we had to do and businesslike.”
At the least, the Wizards will have an extended break to enjoy the the dispatching of Toronto, a team it did not beat in three tries during the regular season. The next round will not begin until Sunday or May 5.
Once the playoffs began, and spiritual leader and first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Paul Pierce shifted to power forward, the Wizards were able to unlock what the Raptors were doing.
They trapped Toronto’s dangerous perimeter players, stalling them all four games. Marcin Gortat, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds, was dominant in the post. John Wall, who had 14 points and 10 assists, and Bradley Beal, who scored a team-hgh 23 points, dismantled the Raptors’ wing players. Otto Porter and Drew Gooden went through an enlightenment.
“I think the turning point was Game 1 when we were up 15 and they came back,” Wall said. “We could have lost the momentum there when they took full advantage. We came out in overtime and won a tough, competitive game on they home court, that gave us the momentum knowing we can withstand any type of run.”
Seven Wizards players reached double figures in scoring by the end of Sunday’s forceful clinching. They made a season-high 15 3-pointers. Gooden and Pierce took separate moments to pump the crowd. Most of the second half was coronation.
Midway through the third quarter, the game had turned into a parade. Pierce hit yet another 3-pointer — he shot 58.3 percent in the series from behind the 3-point line — and was substituted shortly afterward. His right hand stayed raised, the crowd stood, he nodded, talked and encouraged further noise. He spent four games as a diabolical counter to any momentum or swagger the Raptors tried to put together. He was mocked in Toronto papers before the series began, then booed with lust once it did. The attention only powered him in the series.
Beal knocked down three free throws to close the third quarter. Washington led, 102-70, after the third on their way to a season-high 125 points, taking any hope Toronto had of winning one game, crinkling it up and swishing into a garbage can. The Wizards’ 102 points after three quarters are more than they scored in two of the regular-season games against the Raptors.
“When a team gets down like that, they’re down 0-3, they let up a little bit,” Beal said. “We knew that this team was capable of coming back and winning. So, we wanted to come out with the same aggression, and even more aggression on both ends of the floor.”
Ramon Sessions helped during an important stretch to close the d swishing into a garbage can. The Wizards’ 102 points after three quarters are more than they scored in two of the regular-season games against the Raptors.
The first half was flush with things that went right for the Wizards. Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry, who led his team with 21 points, was again in foul trouble. He stomped off the floor after his third foul with 5:06 to play in the first quarter. The Raptors called timeout, and on his way to the bench Lowry fired a crisp chest pass to an official. A technical foul followed.
Washington shooting 71.4 percent in the first quarter started Toronto’s walk down the plank. Just about everything worked. All five starters finished the quarter with at least five points. None scored more than nine. The Wizards again punished the Raptors in rebounding to start the game. A 36-22 lead at the end of the first was the set up for the rest of the night, during which the Wizards would never trail.
“I challenged them the last two days — yesterday and then this morning — that I needed to see that we were the desperate team [on Sunday],” Wittman said. “And that we were going to come out and act like our backs were against the wall. Come out and lay it on the line and these guys did, right from the start.”
Ramon Sessions helped during an important stretch to close the second quarter. Wall came off the floor after his third foul — drawn by Lowry who continued to scrap despite his foul problems — with 4:02 to play in the second quarter. The Wizards led by by 11 when he checked in. By the half, the lead bloated back to 16 points. Sessions was crisp, scoring seven points and adding two assists and two rebounds during 13 minutes in the first half.
With 4:47 remaining in the game, Lowry and DeRozan came off the floor. Lowry stared at the floor, DeRozan patted him on the head. Pierce and Beal laughed at the end of the Wizards bench, sharing a relaxed conversation. What looked to be a mess so recently was now a juggernaut. At least for a round.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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