Wizards spoil Raptors long-awaited homecoming

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.

TORONTO – 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 rookie Scottie Barnes had 12 points apiece to top Toronto. 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 the Raptors’ first regular-season game at Scotiabank Arena in 600 days.

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.

A spirited comeback attempt, sparked by rookie and Toronto native Dalano Banton, finally gave fans a reason to cheer. Banton entered the game with 25 seconds left in the third in his NBA debut, and promptly knocked down a buzzer-beating three from 49 feet out to slice the Wizards’ lead to 81-59 with one quarter to play.

A dunk by Montreal native Birch punctuated an 11-4 Raptors run that pulled them to within 15 points, and brought the capacity crowd of 19,800 — including Drake and Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner — to life.

Anunoby connected on a three-pointer with 4:28 to play that cut the difference to 13. A Barnes free throw made it a 10-point game, but that was as close as they’d come.

The Raptors, who are still without Pascal Siakam who’s recovering from shoulder surgery, were scattered on the offensive end through the first three quarters, tossing up off-target three-pointers — they were 4-for-25 from distance heading into the fourth quarter — and wasting fast break chances.