Washington Wizards: 3 takeaways from Game 4 vs. Raptors

3. Washington survives a slow start for once

The Washington Wizards didn’t have the greatest start to Game 4. They trailed 30-22 after the first quarter and were down 51-40 at the half. It looked like it would be another rough game for the Wizards after they shot 9-of-26 (36 percent) from the field.

By the end of the first quarter, both Markieff Morris and Mike Scott had already earned two fouls. By the end of the first half, Jakob Poeltl and Jonas Valanciunas both had three fouls, but that didn’t prevent the Raptors from shooting 50 percent from 3-point range. Washington was 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range in the first half.

Things changed in the second half for the Wizards, though. They held Toronto to only two made 3-pointers in the second half while shooting 60 percent from the arc as a team. Otto Porter put up 11 points and four rebounds in the second half of things. He was 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range in third and fourth quarters.

For once, the Wizards bounced back from a slow start. They outscored the Raptors 66-47 in the second half to turn things in their favor heading into the next contest. This is a dangerous team when Bradley Beal and John Wall are playing well.