By Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports)
The Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 112-109 on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. Here are three things that stood out from the game...
Two in a row
Coming off a big win over the Kings, the Wizards kept it rolling against the Raptors on Saturday night by finding just enough to pull out a close victory, notching a second straight win for the third time this season.
It was a back-and-forth game that went down to the final possession, as Raptors guard Bruce Brown's three-point attempt rimmed out. In total, there were 26 lead changes and 15 times the game was tied.
The Wizards were playing without starting point guard Tyus Jones and key bench piece Landry Shamet, plus Eugene Omoruyi and, of course, Bilal Coulibaly and Isaiah Livers, who are out for the season. The Raptors were also missing a host of regulars including All-Star Scottie Barnes, R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl.
Washington not only overcame injuries, they also had an off shooting night from deep. They went 11-for-35 (31.4%) from long range.
But they got the win in large part because Kyle Kuzma shook off a rough shooting night to score 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Corey Kispert (18 points) also sank a clutch three with 23.5 seconds on the clock to put the Wizards up by six.
Deni Avdija was a key part of the win with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Richaun Holmes had a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double with two blocks and Jordan Poole added 18 points plus 12 assists.
Vukcevic debuted
This game featured the NBA debut of Tristan Vukcevic, the Wizards' second round pick last summer. He joined the Wizards days ago, but this was the first time he was active and saw the floor. Interim head coach Brian Keefe ended up calling his name fairly early against the Raptors, just a few minutes into the second quarter.
Vukcevic, 21, last appeared in a Wizards uniform in the Las Vegas Summer League in July. He has spent most of this season playing for KK Partizan in Belgrade, Serbia. But now that he's with the Wizards at the NBA level, fans will learn a lot more about his game over the next several weeks.
Vukcevic logged three minutes in his debut, as Keefe kept a fairly tight rotation of eight players. He finished with one rebound and did not attempt a shot.
Bagley III was back
For the second straight game the Wizards had some good news on the injury report, as Marvin Bagley III returned to action for the first time since March 4. He had been out nearly three weeks due to a lumbosacral sprain.
Bagley III came off the bench, as Holmes stayed in the starting lineup after his big performance against the Kings on Thursday. But Bagley III made his presence known in the second unit with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in only 16 minutes of work.
Bagley III picked up right where he left off with a few nice scoring plays. He knocked down a corner three to begin his night and then later in the first half scored an and-1 layup on a quick turnaround drive from the 3-point line. In the second half, he threw down a big putback dunk off a miss by Avdija. All in all, a successful return for the Wizards big man.
Up next: The Wizards head out on the road for one game, against the Bulls on Monday (8 p.m. ET), before returning to D.C. for a six-game homestand.