Eastern Conference Recaps, March 4: Toronto Raptors Kept Their Postseason Hopes Alive With Win Against Wizards

Gary Trent Jr. had 26 points off the bench

After a 116-109 overtime victory against the Washington Wizards, the Toronto Raptors moved back into ninth place of the Eastern Conference. They had to earn the spot back after losing to the Wizards on Thursday.

Gary Trent led the way with 26 points off the bench and Fred VanVleet had 25 points and 10 assists.

“I thought we shot better,” said VanVleet, who made two 3-pointers in overtime. “Created the same amount of good looks, but shot a little bit better and we just guarded a little bit tougher down the stretch finishing out the game, closing out the game.”

Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 22 and 11 rebounds.

NEXT RAPTORS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 28 in Toronto

NEXT WIZARDS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Apr. 7 in Washington

OTHER NOTES:

-The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t need many minutes from Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland in their 114-90 victory against the Detroit Pistons. Garland had 21 points and Mitchell had 20 while they played just 24 minutes. Marvin Bagley led the Pistons with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

NEXT CAVALIERS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 8 at Miami

NEXT PISTONS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 19 in Detroit

-The Milwaukee Bucks had the second-longest winning streak in the NBA broken by the Philadelphia 76ers. James Harden’s season-high 38 points and 10 assists led the 76ers to a 133-130 victory against the Bucks. It was the most points he scored since Dec. 27, 2021. Joel Embiid had 31 points and 10 assists.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 34 points and 13 rebounds.

NEXT 76ERS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Apr. 6 in Philadelphia

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.