nba playoffs Wednesday’s other games

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Raptors 108, Wizards 98

TORONTO

DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 10 assists and Toronto beat Washington in Game 5 of the first-round series. Toronto rebounded after losing Games 3 and 4 in Washington to take a 3-2 series lead back to Washington for Game 6 on Friday night. The only team in the NBA to avoid a three-game losing streak this season, the Raptors went 5-0 following back-to-back losses during the regular season, and have not lost three straight since last year’s second-round sweep against Cleveland. The last time Toronto lost three regular season games in a row was from Feb 8 to 14, 2017. Delon Wright scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Raptors improved to 5-0 in home Game 5s over the past five years. John Wall had 26 points, and Bradley Beal added 20 for the Wizards. They went nearly four minutes without scoring down the stretch. Marcin Gortat had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Washington shot 8 for 24 in the fourth quarter, and Toronto had 15 rebounds in the final frame. The Raptors won despite being out rebounded 50-35. Toronto trailed 87-82 after a three-point play by Kelly Oubre Jr. with 8:52 left, but regained the lead with a 6-0 run over the next 1:20. After Washington’s Markieff Morris dunked with 4:06 left, Wright replied with a 3 and, after a missed shot by Wall, converted a layup off a pass from DeRozan to give the Raptors a 99-93 lead with 2:59 remaining. Washington didn’t score again until Beal’s 3 with 16 seconds left. Before the game, players from both teams held up banners with the hashtag (hash)TORONTOSTRONG and a moment of silence was held to honor the victims of the deadly van attack Monday in Toronto. The Raptors, the Wizards and the NBA will make a donation to a fund for victims and those affected by the incident.

Thunder 107, Jazz 99

OKLAHOMA CITY

Russell Westbrook scored 45 points and Oklahoma City rallied from 25 points down in the second half to fight off elimination and beat Utah. Westbrook also had 15 rebounds and seven assists. Paul George added 34 points and eight rebounds. Utah takes a 3-2 lead back to Salt Lake City for Game 6 on Friday. Oklahoma City took advantage after Utah’s post players, Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, got into foul trouble. Both finished with five fouls, and Oklahoma City was able to get to the basket consistently for the first time in the series. Jae Crowder had a career playoff-high 27 points for Utah. Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, and Joe Ingles added 16.

Associated Press