AFP, Washington :
The Toronto Raptors punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs on Friday with a 102-92 victory over the Washington Wizards. With 24 points from Kyle Lowry and a big contribution from their reserves, the Raptors notched the first road win of their Eastern Conference first-round series to eliminate the Wizards four games to two.
DeMar DeRozan added 16 points and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 14 for Toronto, who trailed by five going into the fourth quarter but out-scored the flagging Wizards 29-14 in the final period.
The Raptors bench was crucial to the comeback.
Toronto’s reserves out-scored Washington’s bench 21-6 in the second half while out-rebounding them 15-3.
“Our bench did a great job,” Lowry said. “I played 31 minutes. Demar played 33. In a playoff game, a closeout game, you would never think your stars could do that.
“But that’s how our team is built.” Backup forward Pascal Siakam made his first five shots, racking up 11 points and eight rebounds.
