A fourth-quarter comeback fell short as the Wizards lost to the Raptors by a score of 116-107 in Toronto on Friday night. It's the sixth consecutive loss for Washington, which continues to tumble as the season drags toward an end.
At least in this one the Wizards showed some fight, clawing back into the game in the fourth quarter when they could have become uninterested, entering the period down 11. Washington went on an 11-2 run late in the final frame to pull within two points at 98-96.
But the final 2:30 belonged to the Raptors, who closed out the Wizards with relative ease. The dagger was probably a Jose Calderon three-pointer with the shot clock winding down pushed the lead back to 10 with 1:19 to play.
Andrea Bargnani torched the Wizards for 33 points -- including an absurd 15 points coming at the line on a career-high 18 free throws. The Italian big has made an effort to get to the line more often this season ... bumping his average up to 5.2 per game entering this contest.
The Wizards started three rookies for the second straight game. Offensive options were limited with Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis sidelined, making oom for the likes of Jordan Crawford and Trevor Booker to let it fly on the offensive end.
Booker had 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting, while 13 rebounds. Crawford scored 25 points on an Iversonian 12 for 27, while John Wall added 21 points and 7 assists.