Toronto Raptors lose NBA playoff opener to Washington Wizards
Toronto Raptors fans roared as their team forced overtime with a last-minute surge, but were silenced as the Washington Wizards dominated the extra frame en route to a 93-86 Game 1 win.
The two teams will resume their best-of-seven series in Toronto on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.
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CBC Sports | How the Wizards won Game 1
Inside the sold-out Air Canada Centre, fans dressed in matching white t-shirts took over for the anthem singer to belt out O Canada before the game's opening tip.
Outside, thousands crammed into Maple Leaf Square — which will be known as "Jurassic Park" throughout the playoffs — to watch the game on the stadium's big screen.
While the fans were thunderous at the beginning of the game, they quieted down partway through the second quarter as the Wizards snatched a lead they'd never relinquish.
The Raptors struggled with their shooting and rebounding throughout the game, while team leader Kyle Lowry fouled out in the fourth quarter.
But that didn't stop the Raps from putting together a furious late-game push, highlighted by big shots from Lou Williams, DeMar DeRozan and Greivis Vasquez. With each shot, the crowd got louder.
In the final minute, Vasquez nailed a three-pointer to tie the game and celebrated with a shimmy to the delight of the packed house.
But in overtime, it was a quiet house. The Wizards jumped out to a quick lead and the Raptors managed just four points.
Paul Pierce: Public enemy
Throughout the game, the stadium echoed with a chant of "Paul Pierce sucks!" directed at Pierce, the Wizards veteran, who said ahead of the series that he wasn't worried about Toronto because the Raptors "don't have it."
Pierce was previously a member of the Broolyn Nets, who eliminated the Raptors in the first round of last season's playoffs. He hurt the Raptors again on Saturday, scoring 20 points.
Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri, who was fined $25,000 last season for dropping an F-bomb at a pre-game rally during last year's playoffs, said he wasn't going to respond to Pierce's taunts, but couldn't resist ahead of Game 1.
"I know everybody wants me say something about Paul Piece," he told the crowd in Jurassic Park.
"Here's what I'm going to say: we don't give a s**t about it."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is at the Air Canada Centre for the game and hinted during a half-time interview that Ujiri may be fined for his comment.
