Bench mob gives Raptors final push to eliminate Wizards, advance to Eastern Conference semifinals

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Jordan Greer
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• 7 min read
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The Raptors finally broke the home-court trend in their first-round series with the Wizards. 

Toronto's bench flipped the switch in the fourth quarter of Game 6 on Friday night, helping the Raptors win the final frame 29-14 on the way to a 102-92 victory. Kyle Lowry scored a team-high 24 points and added six assists. In his return from a shoulder injury, Fred VanVleet gave the bench mob a boost, finishing with five points, four assists and four rebounds in 19 minutes.

With their first-round demons vanquished, the Raptors will await the winner of the Pacers-Cavs series. Each opponent could present a few problems, but Dwane Casey's squad seemed to find its footing in Game 6. The Raptors should gain confidence after beating a Wizards team that was much better than its seed would indicate. 

If you missed any of the action in real time, catch up with all of the highlights below from Friday night's game between the Raptors and Wizards...

Raptors vs. Wizards: Box score, final stats

Final: Raptors 102, Wizards 92

9:30 p.m. ET — A Game 7 will not be necessary. The Raptors capture their fifth playoff series win in franchise history by defeating the Wizards on their home floor. Kyle Lowry poured in a team-high 24 points and helped extend the lead in the fourth quarter with the bench unit. Fred VanVleet was terrific in 19 minutes, showing no signs of rust after sitting out the last three games with a shoulder injury. John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 55 points, but they didn't get much help. Wizards players can start making vacation plans.

9:23 p.m. ET — A Kyle Lowry layup pushes the Raptors' lead to 10. The score: Raptors 100, Wizards 90 with only 1:39 left on the clock.

9:17 p.m. ET — In case you didn't know, Pascal Siakam is a two-way player.

9:03 p.m. ET — The Raptors kick off the final frame with an 8-2 run. Fred VanVleet has really stabilized the bench unit. This is one of the few times in the series Toronto's reserves have outplayed Washington's group.

End of third quarter: Wizards 78, Raptors 73

8:54 p.m. ET — The Raptors didn't have an answer for Bradley Beal in the last four minutes of the quarter. He scored seven points in that stretch, pushing the Wizards' lead to five. He has a game-high 26 points (4-of-7 from 3-point range). Toronto needs more production from DeMar DeRozan, who is 6-of-15 from the field and a minus-10 for the game.

8:44 p.m. ET — Bradley Beal drills a nice transition 3-pointer, pushing the Wizards ahead. Washington holds a 69-67 advantage with 3:15 left in the third quarter. John Wall's hustle made that score possible.

8:39 p.m. ET — It has been a one-possession game for most of the third quarter, but John Wall is doing his best to give the Wizards breathing room. He's got 17 points and six assists. He will need to play like a star the rest of the way if Washington wants to keep this series going.

8:27 p.m. ET —  Is that Serge Ibaka in a Thunder jersey? That's a vintage block from the weak side.

Halftime: Wizards 53, Raptors 50

8:10 p.m. ET — After a lackluster first quarter, the Raptors regroup and close the gap heading into the locker room. Kyle Lowry showed more aggression as a scorer late in the first half, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 25 of the Wizards' 53 points, but it did take them 24 field goal attempts to hit that total. 

We could have a tight 24 minutes ahead of us...

8:02 p.m. ET — John Wall post-up opportunities have resulted in buckets for the Wizards. He hits Bradley Beal for the corner 3-pointer, and the Wizards have stretched their lead to eight. Beal has 12 points, and he's doing a nice job of finding his shots within the flow of the offense.

7:56 p.m. ET — Dwane Casey has a simple formula: "Stop, score, stop!"

7:45 p.m. ET — Fred VanVleet injects some life into the Raptors' bench unit. He's finding his teammates for easy buckets and annoying Ty Lawson all over the floor. It's crazy how different the team can look with VanVleet managing the game.

End of first quarter: Wizards 30, Raptors 20

7:38 p.m. ET — Washington dominated the first 12 minutes of the game. The Wizards limited the Raptors to 36 percent shooting from the field, including 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. John Wall could be approaching double-double territory in the first half with five points and four assists so far. He has attacked the paint without much resistance.

7:29 p.m. ET — The Raptors respond after falling behind early, but the Wizards are dictating the pace of the first quarter. Washington calls timeout with a 22-16 lead at the four-minute mark. Toronto could use a few more shots like this one from Kyle Lowry.

7:16 p.m. ET — The Wizards are off and running. Washington starts the game on a 12-4 run, leading to a Raptors timeout. Bradley Beal already has five quick points, including an impressive pull-up 3-pointer in transition.

7:05 p.m. ET — OK, let's do this. Tipoff coming up next!

6:51 p.m. ET — Here are your starting lineups for Game 6...

Raptors: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, Jonas Valanciunas

Wizards: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Kelly Oubre Jr., Markeef Morris, Marcin Gortat

6:35 p.m. ET —  Pascal Siakam had a little trouble finding the locker room.

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Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.