The game of basketball is about momentum. And in the NBA Playoffs, being every possession matters, any sequence can swing momentum and affect the outcome of the game. In Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Toronto Raptors, the Washington Wizards will be questioning a pivotal fourth quarter play that changed the flow of the game.
The Wizards led 91-88 when Raptors guard Kyle Lowry drove down the court. Wizards forward Mike Scott bumped him. The contact sent Lowry to the floor in a heap. Immediately, officials called for a review to see if there was any unnecessary contact. The review didn’t take long before referees, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, and Tony Brothers ruled a Flagrant-1 foul on Scott.
Replay Review (Game Crew): if Mike Scott committed a flagrant foul in Q4 of #WASatTOR. Ruling: Flagrant 1 for unnecessary contact. pic.twitter.com/6vxSb06wBT
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) April 14, 2018
The call was undoubtedly questionable, and one that the Wizards had the right to complain about. Unfortunately, there was not nothing they could do about the ruling.
Lowry stepped to the line and made both free throws, cutting the Wizards’ lead to 91-90 with 10:02 remaining. The Raptors retained possession of the basketball and Delon Wright scored to give the Raptors the lead at 92-91. The sequence turned into a four-point possession.
The emotion and results of the play lingered. Markieff Morris missed a driving floater and the Raptors answered with a C.J. Miles three-pointer that extended their lead to 95-91. A quick 7-0 run for Toronto and the Wizards were forever chasing the remainder of the final frame. The Raptors would outscore Washington 26-15 in total from that point on.
Certainly, critics will say the Wizards had plenty of time to stage a comeback. There was 9:26 remaining after Miles’ three. And they did, and they took the lead briefly at 96-95. But again, every possession matters in the NBA Playoffs, the questionable call that seemed to be more of a common foul than a flagrant, the free throws, Wright’s bucket on the ensuing possession, Morris missed floater and the Raptors response with a three, was a cause-and-effect.
The play gave the Raptors two free points, and ultimately four that they may not have gotten if it was called a common foul. It’s just one aspect of many the Wizards will be questioning in the aftermath of Game 1.
