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Wizards look to even series with Game 4 in D.C.

addByline("Jeremy Hyman", "WashingtonWizards.com", "jeremyhyman");

The Wizards look to carry momentum from Friday night and even the series at two games apiece with Game 4 on Sunday night in the District.

Game Info

Capital One Arena | 6:00 p.m. | NBCSW/TNT | 1500 AM

Probable Starters

Wizards (1-2): G - Wall, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Raptors (2-1): G - Lowry, G – DeRozan, F - Anunoby, F - Ibaka, C - Valanciunas

Wizards: None

Raptors: Fred VanVleet (Shoulder - Questionable)

Storylines

Wizards Back in the Series

Momentum can change quickly in a playoff series and with Friday's win over Toronto, suddenly the Wizards find themselves right back in the series. They still trail 2-1 and have work to do, but if they get a similar effort from their All-Star backcourt, they will be tough to beat at home.

John Wall and Bradley Beal each scored 28 points to lead Washington to a 122-103 win in Game 3, their first win of the series. Wall had been good in Toronto, but Beal was struggling, especially in Game 2 where he was held to just nine points on 3/11 shooting. He exploded in the first half of Game 3 for 21 points on 8/11 shooting and 4/5 from 3-point range. He looked more like the All-Star shooting guard he's shown to be all season with this one and the Wizards will look for more of that as they try and even things up Sunday night.

Despite Toronto once again getting out to an early first quarter lead, the Wizards were able to quickly respond, closing the first on a 12-2 run. They then scored 39 points in the second quarter to build up an eight point lead at the half, before outscoring Toronto by 11 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Ty Lawson in the Rotation

After he was forced into the lineup earlier than expected because of foul trouble in Game 2, Ty Lawson took on a more conventional role in Game 3, playing 16 minutes as a reserve guard. He didn't put up the big numbers again like in Game 2, but he certainly wowed the crowd with his quickness and was able to run the offense with the second unit. He's played both the point guard role and off the ball as the off guard when he's been on the court with Wall, two spots he's looked comfortable playing through these last two games. Lawson was just added to the Wizards roster for the postseason and Friday night's Game 3 was his home debut with the team, but he's looked to fit in just fine and could be a key piece as this series moves on.

Things Get Chippy

Friday night's Game 3 featured a few pushing and shoving instances that resulted in technical fouls on both teams. Those kind of extra curriculars are not uncommon for a playoff series and can sometimes intensify as a series moves on. As long as it's not costing the teams any kind of game misconducts or suspensions, those kind of events can often light a fire, which may have helped the Wizards get going in Game 3. We'll have to keep an eye on any kind of fireworks that take place in Sunday's Game 4 and see how it impacts the game.

Game 5 will take place on Wednesday night in Toronto.