Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija and Richaun Holmes all recorded double-doubles, and the Washington Wizards used a late 8-0 run to send the visiting Toronto Raptors to a 10th consecutive loss with a 112-109 decision on Saturday in Washington, D.C.
A back-and-forth affair with 15 ties and 26 lead changes, Toronto pulled ahead on a Gary Trent Jr. 3-pointer with 4:07 remaining. Bruce Brown followed it up with a lay-in on the next possession, putting the Raptors up by three points.
But a bucket from Poole then a block of Trent by Holmes led to a Kyle Kuzma dunk. The swing was part of Washington’s decisive push, giving it a lead it held the rest of the way.
The initial 8-0 burst was part of an overall 11-2 run, capped when Poole dished his 12th assist to Corey Kispert for a 3-pointer. Kispert finished with 18 points, making him one of six Wizards to score in double figures.
Poole had 18 points, Holmes finished with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Marvin Bagley III came off the bench for 10 points and eight rebounds.
Avdija led the way with 22 points to go with his 13 rebounds, but he missed a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left that gave Toronto one last shot at overtime. Brown fired a corner 3-pointer as time expired that rimmed off, and Washington claimed back-to-back wins for just the third time this season.
The Raptors, meanwhile, extended their losing skid to the franchise’s longest since dropping 13 in a row in 2010-11.
Trent scored a game-high 31 points to lead a heavily depleted Toronto lineup. The Raptors remained without the corps of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl, four of the team’s five primary starters.
Rookie Gradey Dick scored 17 points while making the start, and Kelly Olynyk recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
