Toronto Raptors vs Washington Wizards Recap (December 4, 2009)
Heading into overtime on Friday night, the Raptors faced a difficult question. Could the worst defensive team in the NBA, though they've repeatedly shown their inability to stop opponents over 48 minutes, play credible D for five? Could the Raptors snap their five-game losing streak by locking up the Washington Wizards during the decisive extra frame? The answer, it turned out, was a relief-producing yes. Toronto's swarming defence on a driving Gilbert Arenas was pesky enough for Arenas to miss a layup that could have tied the game with a tick or two left on the clock. The visitors were lucky enough that Andray Blatche's tip-in missed at the buzzer. And the Raptors buoyed by a pair overtime steals and a Hedo Turkoglu 20-footer from the corner that gave the visitors the lead for good with eight seconds left in the extra frame finally got a win, 109-107. For one night, at least, a team in crisis could put celebrating ahead of self-immolation. "We needed a win, no matter what," said Turkoglu, who finished with 20 points. "We really showed we can play defence ... we can get stops and rebounds. We just have to do it every night." The Raptors had other chances to win. They had the ball with the game tied at 96-96 with 13 seconds to go in regulation. But a broken play led to Turkoglu jacking up a 26-footer at the buzzer a long three-pointer when a two or a single free-throw would have won it and the shot missed. Turkoglu redeemed himself in the extra frame, scoring six of <b>...</b>
