Otto Porter Jr.

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Photos: Best #NBAKicks of the 2017-18 Season

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Photos: Otto Porter Jr.'s 2017-18 Season in Review

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The Wizards’ 2017-18 season came to an end on Friday night, with the Raptors took the series 4-2 with a 102-92 win in Game 6.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 32 points, while John Wall added 23 points and eight assists. The Wizards were without Otto Porter Jr., who had surgery on Friday on his left leg, and struggled to fill his void.

After the Wizards scored 20 points in the first 4:35 of the game, the team struggled to make shots and get the offense going. The Wizards would finish with only 12 assists in the game, with Wall dishing out eight of them. Washington finished 32-of-79 (40.5%) from the field overall, 8-of-22 (36.4%) from deep, and 20-21 (95.2%) from the free throw line.

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 24 points and eight Toronto players scored seven or more points. DeMar DeRozan was mostly held in check, scoring 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Toronto dominated the paint, winning the battle down low 56-32. The Raptors only turned it over seven times, while the Wizards had 14 turnovers for 17 Raptors points.

Washington maintained a steady lead the majority of the game, entering the fourth quarter with a 78-73 lead. The switch flipped in the fourth, as the Raptors closed out the Wizards by winning the final period 29-14. Washington only shot 4-of-16 (25.0%) from the field, gave up eight offensive rebounds, and turned it over four times for nine Raptors points in the final 12 minutes.

“Some of the things that happened in the fourth quarter have been happening throughout the year," Scott Brooks said postgame. "We just had trouble scoring, making shots, we turned the ball over, we gave up offensive rebounds. They were making shots. We didn't have a good shooting game, take away that first quarter. In that fourth quarter, I thought it all started with the first play. We had a chance to score in that first play and did not execute the right way. Like I said, give them credit. They played hard, their bench is really good.

In the end, the Raptors’ depth paid dividends and Fred VanVleet’s return was pivotal to Toronto’s win. Their defense suffocated the Wizards, with the Raptors’ bench making big play after big play.

“A loss is a loss regardless of how you lose," Beal said after the loss. "That will be the biggest thing. We lost games in a variety of ways, turnovers, rebounds, 50-50 balls, defensive stops, scoring late in games."

The 2017-18 season has now concluded for the Wizards, who will go into the offseason with much of their roster in-tact for next season. Wall (27 years old), Beal (24), and Porter (24) are still a young core, and it will be interesting to see how the offseason is approached.

"We started the season not where we wanted to be," Brooks said. "Markieff [Morris] was out with his hernia surgery and missed a handful of games. John [Wall] missed half the season. But we fought and we made the playoffs. We made the eighth seed. Sometimes you just squeak in, and you got to play the best, hottest team in basketball like Toronto was. And then Otto's injury happened at the wrong time also. But give them credit. I don't know if any of that would have changed. The message was you guys have had a great year, we're not where we want to be, and we just got to stay together and keep improving over the summer.”

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Raptors take series, end Wizards' season in Game 6

The Wizards evened the series with the Raptors on Sunday night, coming back from down 14 points in the second half in 106-98 win. Bradley Beal and John Wall combined for 58 points to lead the Wizards in the Game 4 victory, while DeMar DeRozan scored 35 for Toronto.

Beal finished with 31 points in 31-plus minutes after being in foul trouble most of the game. The first time All-Star made 10-of-19 from the field, including 5-of-7 from deep and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He fouled out with 4:58 left in the game, but the Wizards were able to lock the Raptors down the rest of the way and get the win. Washington ended the game on a 14-4 run en route to the win.

"I just gathered my emotions, gathered my thoughts and told my team we were going to win, regardless," Beal said. "I knew if we still had John [Wall] in the game I loved our chances. He did a great job of leading the guys and icing the game with a nice jumper in the corner and getting stops. So, that was definitely a maturity level that I hit, and a face of adversity that I had to overcome, just gather myself and be a leader, being vocal and keeping everyone encouraged in the game.”

Wall led the charge once Beal fouled out, scoring eight of his 27 points in the final five minutes of the game. He added 14 assists, six rebounds, and three steals in another key performance, willing the Wizards to victory with a 3-1 deficit looming with a loss. His defense on DeRozan down the stretch anchored the team defensively and was the on-court leader the team needed in a tight situation.

"When Brad went out, I knew I had to do whatever it took: guarding DeMar DeRozan, making plays, scoring the ball and passing the ball," Wall said postgame. "I just wanted to do whatever, so that we could advance to Game 5, tied 2-2.”

“You have to have resolve to win in this league,” Scott Brooks said about the comeback and the last five minutes of the game. “We’ve had some tough moments this year with John [Wall] missing half the season, but we found it and it put us in a position to make the playoffs through resolve.”

The Raptors got out to a 15-4 start and controlled the game in the first quarter, getting to the line at will. DeRozan attempted 12 free throws in the opening 12 minutes, but did not make a field goal. Players were hearing the whistle constantly, as the game slowed down with a lot of foul calls. In the first half, Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, Mike Scott, Markieff Morris, and Beal all had two fouls early on.

Toronto led 51-40 at the half, holding the Wizards to 16-of-47 (34.0%) shooting and outscored Washington 17 to four in the fast break. The Raptors’ defense was dominating the game, but the Wizards had an answer in the second half.

Sparked by Otto Porter Jr.’s quick eight points in the beginning of the third quarter, leading a 13-2 run to bring the Wizards all the way back after trailing by as many as 14. The Wizards would match their first half total with 40 points in the third quarter, making 15-of-23 (65.2%) shots including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. The game was knotted at 80-80 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Raptors started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, once again taking control of the game. The Wizards would respond, however, putting stops together and tying the game at 90-90. Beal would foul out soon after, but Wall and the Wizards played tough defense and made the right plays to get the win. Marcin Gortat, Kelly Oubre Jr., Morris, and Porter all made huge plays down the stretch to help Washington’s All-Star backcourt finish the game.

The series continues on Wednesday in Toronto for Game 5. Tip is set for 7:00pm as one team will take a 3-2 advantage.

“We were down 2-0 to the number one seed,” Oubre said postgame. “We're the eight seed. We could've imploded last game and let them go up 3-0 so that we would not have a chance but instead we made it back 0-0 so now it's a series of three. We're going back to Toronto and we got to take care of business.”

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Wall, Beal will Wizards to Game 4 win, 106-98

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Photos: Wizards vs. Raptors - Game 4 (4/22/18)

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Otto Porter Jr. - 4/21/18

The playoffs officially tipped off for the 2017-18 Washington Wizards in Toronto on Saturday evening. In a back-and-forth Game 1, the Wizards fell to the Raptors, 114-106.

Otto Porter Jr. and Mike Scott returned for the Wizards, putting Washington at full strength heading into Game 1. John Wall finished with 23 points and 15 assists, Markieff Morris had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Bradley Beal added 19 points to lead the Wizards. The Wizards showed fight throughout the game, but were unable to get it done in the fourth quarter.

For Toronto, Serge Ibaka led the team with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Delon Wright gave the Raptors a big boost off the bench with 18 points, while DeMar DeRozan (17 points) and Kyle Lowry (11 points) were fairly quiet scoring-wise.

The Raptors made a playoff franchise-record 16 3-pointers en route to the win, shooting 16-of-30 (53.3%) from deep. Toronto’s hot shooting from beyond the arc was the difference in the game especially considering the Wizards only made 8-of-21 from deep.

“The 3-point ball is very powerful," head coach Scott Brooks said postgame. "You either have to stop it or do it yourself. Tonight, we didn’t stop it.”

The Raptors came out early with a 12-0 run, taking advantage of the Wizards’ foul trouble at center. Both Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi picked up two fouls in the first six minutes of the game, forcing the Wizards to play Morris and Scott as their bigs. Despite the challenge going up against Jonas Valanciunas and Jakob Poeltl, Morris and Scott responded well with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Washington was able to force 11 Toronto turnovers for 12 points in the first half, locking down Raptors All-Stars Lowry and DeRozan. Toronto’s backcourt was held to only seven points on 2-of-8 shooting with four turnovers in the opening half. If not for seven 3-pointers, the Raptors would have trailed by more at the half even after controlling the first quarter.

Sparked by a 15-2 run, the Wizards would head into halftime leading 59-55. Wall distributed the ball impressively in the second quarter, dishing out six assists and going into the locker room with a double-double (13 points and 10 assists).

Lowry and DeRozan came out firing out of the half, anchoring an 11-2 run for the Raptors to re-take the lead. The Wizards did not play well to begin the third quarter, and it cost them.

"I thought that start of the second half they jumped on us and for some reason we didn’t lock in those first few minutes, I think they had 11 points in two minutes or so," Brooks said. "Playoff basketball you have to be ready to play the start of every quarter, and every minute, and that start that third quarter was costly."

Toronto led by one entering the fourth quarter, but the Wizards started to regain momentum with a 92-89 lead. Following a flagrant foul called on Scott, the Raptors went on a 7-0 run and really took back control of the game. The Raptors’ depth showed in the fourth quarter, especially as the team used an 8-0 run to go up 103-96. C.J. Miles in particular hit some big 3-pointers to lead the Wizards.

Of note, Morris went down with a left ankle injury late in the fourth. He returned a minute or so later, but he was clearly a bit banged up. Luckily for the Wizards, there are two days before Game 2 on Tuesday.

Game 2 tips off on Tuesday at 7:00pm from Toronto as the Wizards will try to even the series before playing two back in D.C.

"We take it a game at time," Beal said postgame. "We had opportunities -- several opportunities -- to win tonight and close it out, but we didn’t. You know, you brush it off and move forward. We got another one on Tuesday."

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Wizards fall in Game 1, 114-106

The Wizards used a strong second half to take care of the Celtics on Tuesday night in the regular season home finale, winning 113-101. Washington made 15 3-pointers in the game, had 32 assists, and scored 25 points off 17 Celtics turnovers.

John Wall led the Wizards with 29 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds, and three blocks in what turned out to be a dominant win over the Celtics. Wall recorded his 5,000th assist during the game, another accolade on his illustrious career so far with the Wizards. The five-time All-Star was clearly the best player in the game, setting up his teammates and being aggressive. Wall made 9-of-16 field goals on the night, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. He also got to the line consistently, making 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.

"It helps when you have the head of the snake per se with John (Wall)," Scott Brooks said postgame of Wall. "He's dynamic, he's one of the best players in the league let alone point guards. He creates a lot of attention on him and he gives a lot of guys a lot of open shots. So we wanted to make sure we play with that spirit that we have to play with in the playoffs.”

For Boston, Jaylen Brown scored 21 points in the first quarter, giving them as much as an 11-point lead early. The Celtics would take a 54-52 advantage into halftime, making nine triples in the first half. However, Brown would only finish with 27 points, as the Wizards held him to 2-of-9 shooting the rest of the game. Boston only shot 32.6% in the second half and turned it over nine times for 14 Wizards points.

“I think early on we let Jaylen Brown get too comfortable, in the first quarter," Wall said postgame. "Luckily we were able to slow him down. We turned up a little bit and started playing better, moving the ball, guys knocking down shots. Expect for a couple of carless turnovers I had, of just trying make reads that I should have scored the ball in, I think we did a great job.”

"We won the game tonight with great effort, great team spirit and that defensive mindset that we need,” Brooks added, highlighting the team's second half.

Otto Porter Jr. left the game at the half with a mild right leg injury, and Brooks said he is doubtful for Wednesday’s game against the Magic. Porter starred for the Wizards in the first half, scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds in 18-plus minutes.

Kelly Oubre Jr. and Mike Scott would step up in Porter’s absence, scoring 11 and 12 points respectively off the bench. Oubre nailed 3-of-4 triples, while Scott grabbed five offensive rebounds in another key reserve performance.

With the win, the Wizards will head to Orlando to take on the Magic Wednesday at 8pm. The playoff implications are a bit more simplified now, but the Wizards could still finish as the sixth, seventh, or eighth seed in the East. Washington will either play Toronto, Boston, or Philadelphia in the first round.  The Bucks, Heat, and Wizards will all be in action.

“This game was important for numerous reasons, but obviously seeding for us," Bradley Beal said after the win. "Being able to get a win before the playoffs start is always good. It’s momentum, some rhythm, messing with lineups Coach is going to more than likely play in the playoffs and try to get a nice rhythm, have a good feel for the ball and go out there and play hard and compete.”

Here are the scenarios that will determine each team’s fate:

1) MIL W, MIA W, WAS W = Wizards No. 8 seed
2) MIL W, MIA L, WAS W = Wizards No. 7 seed
3) MIL L, MIA W, WAS W = Wizards No. 7 seed
 4) MIL L, MIA L, WAS W = Wizards No. 6 seed
 5) Any WAS L = Wizards No. 8 seed