Gary Trent Jr. hits shot at buzzer to lift Raptors past Wizards
Gary Trent Jr. drained a 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 103-101 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday in Tampa, Fla.
Pascal Siakam scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half and rookie Malachi Flynn joined Trent with 16 points for Toronto, which overcame a 19-point deficit. The Raptors also have won nine straight regular-season meetings against the Wizards.
Washington’s Russell Westbrook collected 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists to record his NBA-best 19th triple double and ninth in his last 13 games.
Article continues after this advertisementGary Trent Jr.'s #TissotBuzzerBeater, from ALL ANGLES!@gtrentjr x @Raptors pic.twitter.com/oMt9Ug6dcx
— NBA (@NBA) April 6, 2021
Westbrook answered an 0-for-8 performance from the floor in the fourth quarter by sinking a 3-pointer to give the Wizards a 101-100 lead with 41.2 seconds remaining. The slim advantage held up until Trent made his shot from straight away.
Garrison Matthews scored all 17 of his points in the first half and Davis Bertans also finished with 17 points. Each player had five 3-pointers for Washington, which made 12 as of team after converting 10 of 44 attempts from beyond the arc in its previous two games combined.
Article continues after this advertisementAlex Len had 13 points and Deni Avdija added 12 as the Wizards attempted to overcome the absences of NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal (hip contusion) and Rui Hachimura (shoulder).
That’s how you feel, @gtrentjr?!? 🤟🏽 pic.twitter.com/bMy9itnprT
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 6, 2021
Bertans sank a pair of 3-pointers as Washington scored 13 of the first 17 points of the third quarter to push its lead to 74-55. Toronto answered with a 15-4 run to trim its deficit to eight, with Chris Boucher scoring seven of his team’s points.
The Wizards claimed an 88-77 lead before the Raptors scored 19 of the next 21 points to take a six-point lead with 5:59 to play in the fourth quarter. OG Anunoby made a 3-pointer, a dunk and a mid-range jumper in that surge while Aron Baynes had a 3-pointer, a layup and a free throw.
Toronto scored 10 unanswered points to secure a 36-35 lead midway into the second quarter before Washington flexed its muscle from the perimeter. Mathews drained three 3-pointers, Bertans made two and Avdija also connected from beyond the arc as the Wizards secured a 61-51 advantage at halftime.
