Jonas Valanciunas And Delon Wright Led The Raptors To A Game 5 Win Over The Wizards

The Raptors were locked in a back-and-forth affair with the Wizards in Toronto on Wednesday night as both teams looked to take an important 3-2 lead in the series.

Neither team could separate from the other through three quarters as Toronto held a slim 1-point lead, but in the fourth quarter the Raptors opened it up behind the unlikeliest of duos. It wasn’t their usual backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan that carried them down the stretch, but Delon Wright and Jonas Valanciunas, who hadn’t seen a fourth quarter minute since March 31, that led the way in a critical 108-98 win.

The Raptors decided to stick with their veteran big man down the stretch and it paid major dividends as Valanciunas had six points in the fourth quarter, but more importantly it was his presence in the paint on both ends that was the key as he had some big rebounds and even made some plays in pick-and-roll defense (not known as his strong suit) in crunch time.

Wright stole the show with 11 fourth quarter points, as he did it all, working the Wizards inside and from the perimeter in the biggest game of his young career.

Wright finished the game with 18 points, while Valanciunas had 14 points and 13 boards, leading the team as a +19 when he was on the court. While Wright and Valanciunas took them home, it was DeRozan that put them in position early in the contest as he finished with 32 points and five assists, most of which came in the first three quarters.

The Wizards, meanwhile, will be kicking themselves over their offense going completely stagnant down the stretch as they didn’t make a bucket between the 4:05 mark and the 0:16.2 mark, when Bradley Beal finally took the lid off the basket with a three that was too little too late.

Now the series shifts back to Washington where the Wizards have looked like a completely different team, and the Raptors will have to prove they can pick up a road win to close out this series before it goes the distance.