Game Thread: Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards

A new month brings new perspective, as the Raptors come off their biggest win of the season to face the Wizards tonight. Let’s watch.

A 53-point win in the midst of one of the roughest seasons in Toronto Raptors history felt, appropriately, like a sigh of relief. Now that the weather is changing, the vaccines are rolling, and the pressure is starting to come off the Raptors to make an insane storm into the four-seed — you can’t be blamed if you’re feeling just a tad bit better coming into tonight’s game against the Wizards.

The reality is, though, these two teams never fail to get at each other’s necks — no matter who the personnel is. The Raptors and Wizards have played a ton of close games, going back all the way to Mo Pete’s “Hail Mary three”; although health is a big question mark tonight, should we really expect anything else?

On the Raptors side, Kyle Lowry is still out with foot soreness and tonight, he’ll be joined by Fred VanVleet on the injury report, who left Saturday’s game against the Warriors with a hip flexor injury.

As for the Wizards, Bradley Beal is out tonight with a hip issue of his own. Rui Hachimura will also sit with a shoulder issue.

For more on tonight’s matchup, check out this morning’s preview from Satbir Singh. Now, on to the game details... and the comments.

Where to Watch

Sportsnet, 7 PM ET

Lineups

Toronto — Gary Trent Jr., DeAndre’ Bembry, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Chris Boucher

Washington — Russell Westbrook, Garrison Matthews, Deni Avdija, Davis Bertans, Alex Len

Injuries

Toronto — Kyle Lowry (out - foot), Paul Watson (out - health and safety protocols), Patrick McCaw (out - knee), Jalen Harris (out - hip), Rodney Hood (out - hip), Fred VanVleet (out - hip)

Washington — Bradley Beal (out - hip), Rui Hachimura (shoulder - out), Daniel Gafford (out - ankle), Thomas Bryant (out - knee)