Greivis Vasquez’s heroics near the end of regulation couldn’t save the Toronto Raptors from dropping Game 1 at home in the opening game of their series with the Washington Wizards. Vasquez nailed a three-pointer with 25 seconds left to tie the game up at 82 and force overtime, but Paul Pierce and the Wizards controlled the overtime period and won by seven points.
Game 2 will again be hosted by Toronto before playing two games in Washington. According to TiqIQ.com, Raptors playoffs tickets for Game 2 have an average price of $243.33 with a get-in price of $78. It’s the cheapest Toronto home game remaining. Games 3 and 4 in Washington have an average price of $164.58 (get-in price of $48) and $171.60 (get-in price $43) before jumping up to $219.43 for Game 6. It may be best for Raptors fans to catch a game in Washington, as Game 5 and Game 7 average ticket prices at the Air Canada Centre are $304.21 (get-in price of $100) and $405.72 (get-in price of $113) respectively. Hipmunk.com has flights to Washington along with hotels near the Verizon Center from $83.
Pierce began the action in overtime, hitting the first three-point shot that led to a 7-0 run. The Raptors couldn’t put anything into the basket during extra time, as Toronto missed seven straight shots before DeMar DeRozan’s dunk with 29 seconds left.
It was not a good shooting night for the Raptors, whose bench outscored the starting five. DeRozan, Kyle Lowry (fouled out, did not play in overtime) and Terrence Ross shot a combined 11-for-41, including a 0-for-11 performance from three-point range.
The Raptors did a good job at responding in the fourth quarter, erasing the nine-point deficit they had heading into the fourth quarter. But not enough shots went down to make up for the poor shooting night. Amir Johnson was a nice bright spot for the team, shooting 8-for-12 for 18 points including eight rebounds.
The pressure will be on Toronto to not dive into a 2-0 series hole heading to Washington D.C. Three of the past five meetings between the Wizards and Raptors have gone into overtime, including one triple-overtime game, which coincidentally was the last time the Wizards won in Toronto.
Wittman is the first coach in NBA history to win six of his first seven road playoff games.
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