Ian Mahinmi

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Photos: Ian Mahinmi 2017-18 Season in Review

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With their backs against the wall in Game 3, the Wizards responded with a resounding and definitive victory over the Raptors, 122-103. It was a heated contest on Friday night in the nation’s capital, with the Wizards protecting home court.

The Wizards shot 55.3% in a physical game, as John Wall and Bradley Beal each scored 28 points to lead the Wizards. Wall added 14 assists to his big night, while Marcin Gortat finished with 16 points in a key performance.

The Raptors came out with an early 27-18 lead, a theme so far in this series. DeMar DeRozan had a quick start for the Raptors, and the 3-pointers were falling once again. Unlike the first two games, the Wizards had a long-term response to this Toronto run.

Energized by Kelly Oubre Jr., Ian Mahinmi, and other second unit players, the Wizards went on a 40-18 run over the next several minutes. Washington scored 39 points in the second quarter, anchored by Wall and Beal’s play and 16-of-23 (69.6%) shooting.

With a 69-61 lead at the half, Wall had 19 points and nine assists and Beal had 21 points already. Washington was able to force turnovers and run, as Toronto went into the half with 13 turnovers for 22 Wizards points and 17 fast break points. The Wizards’ hot shooting and the Raptors’ turnovers were basically what decided the game.

“You turn the ball over 19 times for 28 points," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey explained postgame. "Again your hat has to go off to Washington. They punched us and we allowed them to. Nineteen turnovers, they shoot 55 percent, that is the ball game.”

The Wizards were able to continue their dominance in the second half, shooting 11-of-19 (57.9%) from the field in the third quarter. Gortat gave the Wizards a spark in the third quarter, scoring eight of his 16 points. Washington would lead by as many as 22 points in the second half, outscoring Toronto 53-42 in the final 24 minutes.

“It was great to see everyone clicking and everyone having fun,” Beal said postgame. “This is the playoffs, this is the big stage, this is where you come together through adversity to get a win.”

Wall and Beal’s All-Star play was the story, as the two dueled with the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Washington was able to hold Lowry to 6-of-14 shooting and got him in foul trouble, while DeRozan struggled after his scorching first quarter start. Wall posted up Lowry at will in the second quarter, and Beal was nearly unstoppable most of the game.

“I think for one, just me and Brad [Beal] taking on the challenge of guarding those two guys," Wall said about the All-Star backcourt showdown. "I’m just trying to make it tough for them, stay on all plays. A lot of credit to our other three guys on the defensive end of being in a help position, but also just trying to close out on their shooters. In the first two games we would be in help position but give those guys warm up shots and they were knocking them down. Tonight they made some tough ones early on, but we just stuck with coverages and the changes we made.”

The energy inside the arena gave the Wizards a comfortable home feeling, as fans were loud and engaged in every possession. Scott Brooks mentioned postgame that the crowd was one of the keys to victory. On Sunday, the Wizards will look to even up the series in Game 4. Tip is set for 6:00pm at Capital One Arena, where the Wizards have won seven straight playoff games.

"I thought our crowd was a big part of our win," Brooks said. "That was fun and a really a great environment. We needed every ounce of the energy that they gave us and our guys responded. All of the guys played well."

“At the end of the day, we lost two games," Gortat said. "The first game, we fought all the way to the end. The second game was a terrible effort. At some point we knew it was just going to be winning the one game and getting that momentum just to feel better about ourselves. Now we have it. Hopefully we can carry this over to another game.”

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Wizards take Game 3 over Raptors, 122-103

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

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Photos: Special Olympics DC Clinic - 3/26/18

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Photos: Wizards vs. Nuggets - 3/23/18

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Photos  | Box Score

It took four quarters and two overtime periods, but the Wizards pulled out a tough win in Boston on Wednesday night, 125-124. Behind Bradley Beal’s 34 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, the Wizards came out victorious after trailing by as many as 20 points in the first half. Jodie Meeks’ 3-pointer in the corner with two seconds left tied the game and sent it into the first overtime, and the Wizards finished the job after two extra periods.

Washington came to Boston on a back-to-back while the Celtics last played on Sunday. Still, the Celtics were without several rotation players, including All-Stars Al Horford and Kyrie Irving, as well as Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Daniel Theis. The Celtics did not back down despite their missing players, employing a nine-man rotation that took it to the Wizards early.

The Celtics opened the game on a 21-6 run, making 8-of-11 shots. The game appeared all but over early in the first half, with the Celtics taking 49-29 lead with 7:45 remaining in the second quarter. The Wizards lacked energy after a tough loss to the Timberwolves in the nation’s capital on Tuesday night, giving up 6-of-7 3-point shooting and 14 second chance points in the opening half. The Wizards were still able to bring the game within seven points at the half, as Markieff Morris sparked a 10-0 run in the final 2:38 of the second quarter.

Ian Mahinmi, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, had his first double-double of the season. He was especially effective in the first half while the rest of the team struggled, adding eight points and six rebounds off the bench. Mahinmi’s presence down low gave the Wizards key minutes throughout the game, but his offense in the first half may have prevented them from getting blown out.

The game remained close the rest of the way, with the Wizards taking their first lead since 2-0 with 3:35 left in the third quarter, 77-76. After a rough first half, Beal scored 16 points on 7-of-10 field goals in the third to lead the Wizards, who would take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.  Washington held Boston to 9-of-21 (42.9%) shooting in the third quarter, including holding Jayson Tatum to 1-of-5 from the field in the period.

The Celtics regained the lead with a quick 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter. Boston would lead most of the rest of the way, but the Wizards were right in it late. Marcus Morris was unstoppable most of the game, scoring nine of his season-high 31 points in the fourth. The Wizards trailed by five after he nailed a 21-foot stepback jumper with 2:38 to go.

In the final minute, Beal made three key layups to keep the Wizards within striking distance. Tatum missed an important free throw with 32.4 seconds left and Beal’s third of those layups made the score 104-103 Boston with 20.1 seconds left. Shane Larkin made both free throws with 12.5 seconds to give the Celtics a three-point lead.

Beal missed a 27-footer out of the timeout, but the Wizards were able to retain possession with 5.5 seconds after Aron Baynes knocked the ball out of Tomas Satoransky’s hands on the rebound. Markieff Morris inbounded the ball to Otto Porter Jr., who cut to the lane and found Meeks wide open in the corner. Meeks drilled the 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to tie the game at 106-106.

“No matter how many shots I miss, I have enough confidence in myself to feel better about the next one going in,” Meeks said of the big shot. “In practice, I put the work in, before and after practice, but just to have the confidence from my teammates means a lot.”

In the first overtime period, the two teams switched baskets until Porter nailed two free throws with 19.6 seconds left to give the Wizards a two-point lead. Tatum would score on a finger roll and draw the foul with 3.1 seconds left, but he missed the free throw as they went to a second overtime.

Washington controlled the second overtime almost the entire time, with the Wizards getting their biggest lead of the entire game at six points. The Wizards gave up a few buckets but were able to defend a Tatum 3-pointer in the closing seconds and sealed the win.

”We could have easily folded or gone in the opposite direction,” Beal said of the win. “We could have continued to drop in the seeding, or we could have forgotten about last night and went on to tonight. Granted we were down 20 at one point. (The Celtics) came out a lot harder in the second half. I’m proud of my teammates. We did a good job of staying poised, balanced and battling this one out.”

Even though the Celtics were missing almost all of their starters, the the Wizards were down by 20 and won in a grind-it-out type game in a place they have had trouble winning. Washington won the game by flipping the switch defensively and on the boards. After losing the rebounding edge 25-14 in the first half, the Wizards had 38 rebounds to the Celtics’ 19 in the second half and overtime periods.

“It was a rollercoaster ride,” Scott Brooks said after the game. “It was like two games, a 12- minute game at the start of the game and then the three quarters plus overtime. That’s how we need to play. Credit (to the Celtics), they came out and clawed and scratched and made tough shots.”

”I give our guys credit, we fought back, made it a game and gave ourselves a chance to win by making big plays for one another. Our spirit was good throughout that last three quarters and overtime.”

The Wizards will play another important Eastern Conference game on Saturday as they host the Pacers on Saturday at 7:00pm. The winner of that game will take the season series with the two teams jostling for position.

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Wizards hold on in double overtime in Boston, 125-124

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Photos: Wizards vs. Celtics - 3/14/18

Led by Karl Anthony-Towns' season-high 37 points and 10 rebounds, the Timberwolves put away the Wizards late in an 116-111 win. Minnesota went on a 20-3 run in the fourth quarter to take control of the game, and Washington could not recover.

The Wizards started the game 9-of-12 from the field and took a 59-53 lead into the half. Markieff Morris led the Wizards with a season-high 27 points and Bradley Beal added 19 of his own. Morris made 10-of-15 shots and scored 11 of his 27 in the third quarter. Beal made six of his first seven field goals but only made 2-of-9 to finish the game.

The Timberwolves made 13-of-18 of their field goals in the fourth quarter and outscored the Wizards 34-21 in the final period. Minnesota only made two triples in the first three quarters, but hit 5-of-7 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Wizards led 95-85 early in the fourth, but then the Wolves came alive.

"We had the same start we had in the second quarter, defensive mistakes," Scott Brooks said postgame of the fourth quarter. "And we're continually making them. We got to clean it up otherwise—I think we're up six going into the second quarter and they jumped on us. Then the same thing happened in the fourth quarter. They went on a run. We got to get stops, and we got to stop worrying about scoring.”

Towns was exceptional in the game, making 13-of-17 field goals, all three 3-point attempts, and all eight free throws. He would hit a 3-pointer to put the Wolves up five with 29 seconds left, and defended Beal late to force the turnover that led to a game-sealing dunk by Jeff Teague. Ian Mahinmi was effective on Towns at times and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, but Towns' ability to score from anywhere on the court was nearly unguardable at times.

Otto Porter Jr. struggled from the field, only scoring eight points on 4-of-14 shooting. Others such as Morris stepped up to make up for his tough night from the field. Tomas Satoransky had 15 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, as well as a key steal and behind-the-back pass to Porter late in the game to bring the Wizards within three. The team's bench finished with 36 points, with Ramon Sessions adding nine points in 16 minutes to lead the unit with Mahinmi.

The Wizards gave up 64 points in the paint, their fourth straight game of allowing 60 or more down low. Both teams had double-digit offensive rebounds, with the Timberwolves scoring 18 second chance points and the Wizards 16. It was the Timberwolves' first road win against an Eastern Conference team since December 31.

"We're getting beat on backdoors, we're getting beat off the dribble," Brooks said of the poor interior defense. "If you do that, you can't expect your bigs to protect you every time. You got to guard, you got to guard the ball. You can't keep saying the same things every game. It's been four games now, and we've given up over 60 points in the paint. It's a personal pride. I got to find the guys that are going to do it.”

Next up, the Wizards travel to Boston overnight to take on the Celtics on Wednesday at 8pm. Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Gordon Hayward, and Daniel Theis have already been ruled out for the Celtics.

“We need it, we need to win," Beal said of Wednesday's game in Boston. "It’s plain and simple. It’s not anything we need to pinpoint on doing, we know who we’re playing, we know what environment we’re going to be in, so there should be nothing new for us. Just go out there and get a win, whatever it takes.”