WASHINGTON – Nick Young had his second big home game in a row, scoring 18 of his 29 points in the third quarter Saturday night as the Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 98-95.
Young didn't match the 43 he posted against Sacramento four nights earlier, but he again ignited a Wizards team that continues to look decent at home and terrible on the road. Washington improve to 11-8 at the Verizon Center, hardly enough to offset its 0-19 mark on the road.
Young made 10 of 19 field goals, including eight in a row at one point. He scored the Wizards' first 13 points of the second half, all jumpers from at least 15 feet, and he went 5 for 6 from the free throw line in the final 18 seconds.
Neither team led by more than 10 in a game between two teams languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
Andray Blatche, back after missing one game with a sprained right shoulder, had 17 points and 13 rebounds on the night his bobblehead was the featured giveaway. JaVale McGee had 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks for the Wizards, and Yi Jianlian made all five of his field goals to score 10 points.
Andrea Bargnani had 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Raptors. Jose Calderon had 21 points, 15 assists and tied a career-high with nine rebounds for Toronto, which opened a five-game road trip without guard Leandro Barbosa. Barbosa is expected to miss one to two weeks after straining his right hamstring in Friday night's loss to Detroit.
The Wizards blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead when Bargnani scored seven points in a 12-2 run, tying the score a 79 with 8:10 to play. Washington got the lead back to six several times, including at 92-86 after a fadeaway jumper by Blatche. A layup by Ed Davis and a tough leaner in traffic by Calderon cut the lead to two with less than a minute to play, but the Wizards got the lucky out-of-bounds carom after a missed jumper by John Wall.
The Raptors began fouling, and Young made enough free throws to keep the lead safe. Blatche then made 1 of 2 free throws with 0.9 seconds left, giving the Raptors a chance at a desperation heave, but they couldn't get the shot off in time.
Notes: Wizards G-F Josh Howard will see a specialist Monday about his sore left knee and isn't expected to play for at least five days after that. Howard had surgery on the knee last season, and it started bothering him again in late December. ... Toronto G Jerryd Bayless did not dress for the game. He's missed four of the last eight games with a sore left ankle.
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