The Toronto Raptors rebounded after dropping two straight games in Washington to regain the series lead at 3-2 over the Wizards.
MORE: Three takeaways from the Thunder's pivotal Game 5 win over the Jazz
DeMar DeRozan poured in a game-high 32 points and Kyle Lowry added 17 points, 10 assists in the Raptors' 108-98 win.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's Game 5:
Rebounding
The Raptors got crushed on the boards 50-35. They gave up 14 offensive boards to the Wizards who were struggling shooting from the field all night. Normally that would be a recipe for disaster, but Toronto was able to not only survive - they were able to pull away late in the fourth for the win.
15 of the Raptors' 35 rebounds came in the fourth period - that effort needs to travel to Washington for the Raps to close the series out.
So far this series, Toronto's home rebounding percentage is 50.4%. In the two games on the road, it drops to 48.7%.
Three-point shooting
The Wizards have clearly struggled to find their shot from three-point range at the ACC. On the road so far this series Washington is shooting a dismal 33.3%. In Game 5 on Wednesday, they went 5-of-26 for 19.2%.
The Wizards' 5 threes were their fewest since Jan. 12 against the Magic.
— Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) April 26, 2018
Expect the Wizards' shooters to find their stroke back at Capital One Arena.
Closing Time
Closing time as Rod Black would say was where the Raptors flexed their muscle in Game 5. Trailing 87-82 with 8:52 left to play in the game may have had Toronto fans saying to themselves "here we go again."
But a 6-0 run gave the Raptors the lead and they didn't look back. Without Fred Van Vleet in the fourth period, Toronto has looked shaky on the offensive end. In Game 5 they got a huge fourth quarter from Delon Wright who had 11 of his 18 points in the frame.
The extra offensive option in the clutch that FVV had been providing throughout the season has been missing but if Wright can step up in that role the Raptors will end this series in Washington.
