Wall and Pierce
Apr 24, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) celebrates with Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) against the Toronto Raptors in the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 106-99, and lead the series 3-0. REUTERS/Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Eastern Conference No. 4 versus No. 5 pairing was touted as one of the most interesting and close pairings in the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs. The Washington Wizards proved exactly the opposite after exacting a merciless 125-94 blowout victory over the Canadian team in Game 4 to accomplish a sweep of the Raptors in the best-of-seven series.

The Wizards also proved that a beautiful, balanced team game will bring them places in this postseason; seven players ended up in double-figure scoring for the Wizards led by Bradley Beal’s 23 points and Marcin Gortat’s double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Wizards star point guard John Wall also had a double-double (14 points and 10 assists) while Ramon Sessions and Drew Gooden both came off the bench to score 15 and 14 markers, respectively.

For Toronto, the loss marks a disappointing end to what was a promising season. During the regular season they were consistently atop the East standings and even battled for the No. 1 seed at some point. The Cleveland Cavaliers overtook them and so did the Chicago Bulls for the No. 3 seed before the playoffs began. Now, the Wizards also have run past them despite the Raptors owning the homecourt advantage in this first round series.

The blame game begins for the Raptors, who got disappointing performances from star guards Kyle Lowry, who shot 23.8 per cent this series and DeMar DeRozan, who averaged 2.3 turnovers per game. Head coach Dwane Casey will be on the hot seat as well after another first round loss in the postseason. Casey and the Raptors lost to the Brooklyn Nets in seven games in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

Like last season, the Wizards also got by a first round opponent even without homecourt advantage. Washington, as the fifth seed, upset the Chicago Bulls in just five games and advanced to the second round. The Wizards will face the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Brooklyn Nets series. The East’s top seed Hawks lead the best-of-seven affair, 2-1.

To contact author of this article, email j.quizon@IBTimes.com.au.

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