Wizards somehow upset Raptors in Game 4 despite awful call fouling out Bradley Beal

The Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors in Game 4 on Sunday despite trailing for more than 40 minutes of game time and despite Bradley Beal fouling out with nearly five minutes remaining in the game. When Beal left, there was 4:58 left in the game and the score was tied at 92 all. The Wizards then finished out a 106-98 win to tie the series at two games each.

This John Wall baseline bucket was the dagger that Washington twisted into Toronto.

The Raptors definitely shot themselves in the foot throughout this game. Their vaunted new offensive identity fell apart, especially in the second half of the game, when nearly every possession devolved into DeMar DeRozan isolations and the team just stopped getting good three-point looks. DeRozan attempted 29 field goals, and though he went to the free throw line 18 times, there were a couple moments late where he didn’t get calls. Meanwhile, the Raptors attempted just 18 shots from behind the three-point line.

After a Markieff Morris alley-oop layup with 3:08 left in the game, Washington never trailed again, which is remarkable since the Wizards trailed for all of the first 36 minutes up until 0.2 seconds remained in the third quarter when Mike Scott hit an awkward buzzer beating runner. Here’s that Morris shot.

It’s amazing that the Wizards pulled this off without Beal, who had arguably been their best up until he fouled out with 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 5-of-7 shooting behind the three-point line. And Beal’s foul, let the record show, was horrendous, even if a few dumb fouls earlier in the game had put him in this position. Credit to the rest of the Wizards, rallying to the moment and pulling off a win all the same.

With two days off before Game 5, there will definitely some hot takes about Toronto, a team that simply couldn’t lose this game and still did.