Bradley Beal scored 23 points, Montrezl Harrell had 22 in his Wizards debut and Washington spoiled Toronto’s homecoming, beating the Raptors 98-83 on Wednesday night.
Kyle Kuzma — acquired with Harrell in the trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Lakers — had 11 points and 15 rebounds for Washington. Spencer Dinwiddie, acquired from the Nets in the same four-team deal, scored 13 for the Wizards, who led by as many as 29 points to give new coach Wes Unseld Jr. a victory in his first game.
Fred VanVleet scored 12 points and rookie Scottie Barnes had 12 in his debut, but it was a disappointing performance for the Raptors, who played in Toronto for the first time since a Feb. 28, 2020 loss to Charlotte. Toronto relocated to Tampa last season because of border restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Washington shot 5 of 27 from 3-point range, but Toronto wasn’t any better, missing 19 of its first 21 3-point attempts and finishing 7 of 34. The Raptors shot 30.9% from the field overall.
The Raptors scored the first five points of the game, promptly gave up a 7-0 run, and never led again.
Many in the sellout crowd of 19,800, including Toronto rapper Drake, had long since departed by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Toronto’s OG Anunoby had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Beal and Harrell each scored six points in the opening quarter as Washington led 26-18 after one, scoring 20 points in the paint. The Raptors shot 7 for 24 in the first.
Kuzma scored eight points in the second and Beal had seven as Washington extended its lead to 57-37 at halftime.
Toronto shot 2 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half, while the Wizards went 3 for 13.
Harrell scored 10 points in the third as the Wizards took an 81-59 lead to the final period.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Harrell had nine rebounds, giving him 2,007 for his career. … Beal went 8 for 8 at the free throw line. … The Wizards had 56 points in the paint. … Washington opened a season at Toronto for the third time. The Wizards were last north of the border for an opener in 2005.
Raptors: VanVleet addressed the crowd briefly before the game. … Anunoby missed nine of his first 10 field goal attempts. … Barnes had nine rebounds. … F Chris Boucher, who missed most of the preseason after needing surgery to repair a dislocated left middle finger sustained in a practice collision with Achiuwa, returned ahead of schedule to face the Wizards. … General manager Bobby Webster said during a radio appearance Wednesday that F Pascal Siakam (left shoulder) has resumed a limited practice schedule.
LOCAL HERO
Toronto-born G Dalano Banton, the first Canadian draft pick in Raptors history, made a buzzer-beating half-court 3 at the end of the third for his first NBA basket.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR
The Raptors lead the league with a record-tying 10 international players from a record nine countries on their opening-night roster.