“Losing games on purpose”: NBA fans call out Washington Wizards after blowing 23-point lead vs. Raptors

The Washington Wizards led by as many as 23 points against the Toronto Raptors on Monday before collapsing down the stretch and losing 111-107. The embarrassing performance left NBA fans accusing the team of intentionally throwing away the game.

Toronto was led by star forward Pascal Siakam, who finished with a season-high 39 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals on 62.5% shooting. This includes 22 points in the third quarter, which ignited the Raptors’ comeback.

Washington still led by 12 (107-95) with 5:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, after making a series of late-game mistakes, the Wizards didn’t score again, giving up 16 straight points to end the game.

Following the brutal loss, some fans called out the Wizards for seemingly tanking the game:

“[The] Wizards are losing games on purpose, LMAO,” one fan said.

“It’s like they were trying to lose,” another said.

Meanwhile, others attributed the loss to the Wizards playing their typical brand of dysfunctional basketball:

“This is some classic Wizards basketball,” one fan said.

“They play either one or two ways the majority of games, get out to a big lead and then blow it, or be down double digits and storm back to get the game relatively close but still lose. In other words, Wiz gonna Wiz,” another said.

Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to Washington’s late-game collapse against Toronto:

---

---

Washington loses seventh of last eight games, drops to 2-8

Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and Toronto Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam

Monday’s loss marked the Wizards’ seventh in their last eight games after they started the season 1-1. They are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies (2-8) for the second-worst record in the league, ahead of only the Detroit Pistons (2-9).

Their loss came despite forward Kyle Kuzma recording a season-high 34 points on 56.0% shooting. So the Wizards will have to tighten up their defense and cut down on unforced errors if they hope to turn their season around.

Things don’t appear to be getting easier for Washington (2-8) anytime soon, though, as it next plays the Dallas Mavericks (8-2) on Wednesday.

---