Washington Wizards: 3 takeaways from Game 3 vs. Raptors

3. Washington corrals Toronto’s bench scoring

The Toronto Raptors got big games from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Lowry finished with 19 points, eight assists and three steals, while DeRozan had 23 points, four assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block. As a team, they shot 12-of-28 from behind the arc, but five of those makes came from Lowry.

The Raptors starters, for the most part, showed up. Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and five rebounds. Rookie OG Anunoby had 12 points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range. Outside of them, the Washington Wizards clamped down.

They did a much better job containing the Raptors bench in Game 3, holding them to 32 points on Friday night. In the first two games, the bench averaged 42 points while shooting 14-of-27 (51.9 percent). Part of the significant drop was containing C.J. Miles to 1-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. He entered the contest shooting 8-for-13 from behind the arc.

Toronto’s bench shot 3-for-12 from the 3-point line in Game 3 — a significant difference — and it showed in the final result. The Wizards played with a different edge on Friday night and now it’s up to the Raptors to respond.