By Canadian Press

Wizards win two in a row, hand Raptors 10th straight loss

Mar 23, 2024 | 8:59 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deni Avdija scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Kyle Kuzma made some big baskets down the stretch to compensate for a rough shooting performance and the Washington Wizards handed the Toronto Raptors their 10th consecutive loss, 112-109 on Saturday night.

With just their third two-game winning streak of the season, the Wizards kept from falling below Detroit for the worst record in the NBA. 

Bruce Brown missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have forced overtime, and the short-handed Raptors have not won since March 3.

This was arguably the Raptors best chance to end this skid — by far their longest of the season — especially after cutting down on the turnovers that hurt them in a home loss Friday night to Oklahoma City. But Toronto, playing without its top three leading scorers and down to just eight healthy players available, made some costly mistakes and faded late after leading by as many as 11.

In addition to Kuzma heating up and going 4-for-6 from the floor in the final minutes after starting 3 of 12 and finishing with 16 points, Jordan Poole scored 14 of his 18 in the fourth quarter to spark Washington’s rally. Richaun Holmes also grabbed a game-high 14 of the Wizards’ 55 rebounds to Toronto’s 42, along with 15 points.

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But it started with Avdija, the ninth pick in the 2020 draft who’s making the most of a bigger role.

“I have trust in him, so we’re definitely putting the ball in his hands more,” interim coach Brian Keefe said. “Some of it’s also his rebounding: It leads to him pushing in transition. But his ability to get downhill, get to the rim for himself and for others has been terrific.”

Gary Trent Jr. led the Raptors with 31 points, rookie Gradey Dick scored 17 and Kelly Olynyk had 14 points and 10 assists.

Tristan Vukcevic, a second-round pick in the 2023 draft, played three minutes and had a rebound in his NBA debut for Washington after signing a two-year deal last week. Marvin Bagley III returned to the Wizards lineup after missing the past nine games with lower back spasms and scored 10 points off the bench.

“It just gives us more size, versatility,” Keefe said. “We always talk about the rebounding with Marvin but a little bit of scoring punch, so we’re thrilled to have him back.”

UP NEXT

Raptors: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Wizards: Visit the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press