Sam Dekker was a true Wizards killer out there tonight. Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 24 points.
The Washington Wizards are still winless in the preseason. But it’s becoming quite concerning since they only have one more game left before the regular season next week. And they lost 113-108 to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night despite leading for most of the time including well into the fourth quarter. It’s especially disappointing because Washington played this game with several days rest while the Raptors were on the back-end of a back-to-back.
Washington led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but ultimately finished halftime with a 58-all tie. Daniel Gafford was the most impressive performer of the first half, scoring 8 of his 14 points on 4-of-4 shooting, while Bradley Beal was held without a field goal in the same time, only scoring 4 points off free throws. Beal had 12 points in the end, but shot just 1-of-11 from the field.
Goran Dragic and Scottie Barnes were Toronto’s biggest performers, keeping them in striking distance when Washington was in position to break the game wide open.
In the second half, Gafford got cold, but Kyle Kuzma remained a consistent force, ultimately leading Washington’s scorers with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting. But the Wizards were still up 89-81 heading into the fourth quarter, when it was the Sam Dekker and Malachi Flynn show. They combined for 25 fourth quarter points to help the Raptors make the comeback.
For Dekker, specifically, since he was a one-time Wizard back in the 2018-19 season, his 18 points and 7-of-10 shooting performance help earn him the title of “Wiz Killer” this preseason. I wish he had more games like this when he was in Washington. Flynn led the Raptors’ scorers with 22.
There’s only more preseason game left. The Wizards will head on the road to face off against the New York Knicks this Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Hopefully they can win at least one preseason game, just for us if nothing else.