Wizards spoil Raptors’ long-awaited homecoming

Six hundred days after they'd played a meaningful game in Toronto, the Raptors finally made their return.

TORONTO – Six hundred days after they’d played a meaningful game in Toronto, the Raptors finally made their return.

For some of them, coach Nick Nurse suggested, the emotion might have been too much.

“It seemed to me we weren’t fully engaged and something was there, and it probably was that it was a pretty big moment,” Nurse said.

Bradley Beal scored 23 points, Montrezl Harrell had 22, and the Washington Wizards spoiled the Raptors’ long-awaited return to Toronto with a 98-83 victory on Wednesday.

Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes had 12 points apiece to top Toronto in what VanVleet said felt like a “playoff atmosphere.”

“We let the crowd down, that was a hell of a crowd,” he said.

OG Anunoby had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Goran Dragic and Montreal native Khem Birch each had nine points.

Anticipation had been sky high ahead of Wednesday’s opener, but the rebuilding Raptors, without veteran Kyle Lowry for the first time in a decade, struggled from the opening whistle. They trailed by 20 points in the first half. The gap grew to 29 in the third quarter.