Raptors fall to Wizards in overtime in playoff opener

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The day was jammed with plot twists, from Paul Pierce feeding off the venom of Toronto fans, to the Raptors digging out of a 15-point hole to force overtime. But there was no happy ending to the opening game of the NBA Playoffs for the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors staged a fourth quarter comeback to push the game into OT behind dramatic late-game shooting from Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez. But they were badly out-rebounded, shot just 38 per cent from the field, and allowed series villain Paul Pierce to roll for 20 points as the Washington Wizards won 93-86 and took a 1-0 series lead.

Minutes before tip-off, Raptors president general manager Masai Ujiri addressed the thousands gathered outside in the square affectionately nicknamed Jurassic Park. Following in the vein of his "F-Brooklyn" expletive last year, Ujiri this time responded to comments from Pierce, who said earlier this week that the Raptors don't have that "it" factor.

"I don't give a s--- about 'it'," Uriji bellowed into the microphone.

The crowd indoors was cloaked in white shirts with a red "6" on the back, a nod to the 416 by Drake's October's Very Own. The noise was deafening, the energy wildly intimidating.

The Raptors led 23-19 by the end of the first quarter, holding Pierce scoreless and star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal to just a combined five points. They booed Pierce whenever he touched the ball and chanted "Paul Pierce Sucks."

Suddenly, in the second quarter, that venom seemed to awaken the beast.  Pierce began swishing three-pointers and effortlessly tossing step-back jumpers. He rumbled for 10 fast points, and it spurred a Wizards run. Washington took a 46-42 lead into the half.

The Raptors struggled to pull back in line during the third, especially as the usually sharp-shooting Lou Williams was off the mark on jumper after jumper. The Wizards took a 74-59 lead into the fourth quarter. Pockets of fans began to chant for the Raptors to bring in defensive specialist James Johnson.

But mid-way through the fourth quarter the Raptors went on a 16-3 run, punctuated by timely three-pointers from Lou Williams, and kept rallying. Lowry fouled out, just before a three from Greivis Vasquez tied the game 82-82 and had the guard shoulder-shimmying down the court as the Air Canada Centre erupted.

With just 0.4 on the clock, the Raptors attempted an alley-oop inbound pass from Vasquez to Terrence Ross, which fell short, leaving the arena at fever pitch as the game went into overtime.

But the defence from Washington in overtime was stifling, not surprising from the squad that ranks No.5 in the NBA in defensive efficiency.  The Wiz outscored Toronto 11-4 in extra time as the Raps made just two of their nine attempts from the floor.

"I was aggressive; I didn't shy away from a lot of shots I'm used to taking," said Toronto's DeMar DeRozan. "We missed a lot of easy shots as a team."

Beal contributed 16 for Washington, while Wall was held to 10.

Amir Johnson was Toronto's leading scorer with 18, while DeRozan had 15, and Vasquez, Williams and Patrick Patterson each had 10. Lowry had seven on 2-of-10 shooting. James Johnson didn't get into the game.

"Believe me, I heard people yelling to put James in, but who do you take out?," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "There will be a place for James in this series, and I've talked to him about that."

At the end of the day, being out-rebounded 61-48 stung Toronto. Allowing opponents too many second-chance baskets has been a lingering issue, and that surfaced again, as Washington grabbed 19 offensive boards.

"Until we make that a priority, it's going to be hard for us," said Casey of the rebounding. "With that said, there's still lots of basketball to be played, so it's not gloom and doom."

Game 2 is Tuesday in Toronto.