The Washington Wizards put the finishing touches on a surprising four-game sweep of the higher-seeded Toronto Raptors, taking out the toothless Dinos 125-94 Sunday in DC.
Paul Pierce, the Wizards’ emotional leader and frequent Toronto tormentor, thinks his squad delivered an unmistakable message with how easily the got rid of the Raptors.
Beal: "We have that mindset that we're an elite team in this League, and we're going to continue to play that way." pic.twitter.com/bu1ok0czDO
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) April 27, 2015
John Wall: "We understand what it takes to win." 👔 pic.twitter.com/CZgXZgUaqO
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) April 27, 2015
Pierce also had plenty of fun trolling Raptors fans over social media.
Drake a fool lol pic.twitter.com/h5qrj1a28i
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) April 27, 2015
Per the WaPo:
After the game, the players in the locker room were relatively subdued. They were moving on but hardly satisfied. The only mild form of bravado could be found against one of the cherry wood cabinets adjacent to the stalls, where a dingy broom rested, signifying the accomplishment. […] “Do I get anything for that?” Coach Randy Wittman joked, when asked about accomplishing a franchise first. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“I don’t know if anybody really picked us to beat Toronto in this series especially without home-court advantage. So to go out there and not only be the underdog, but to sweep them I think it does send a message that, ‘Hey you can’t take Washington lightly,’ ” Pierce said. “We didn’t show the weaknesses that we showed during the regular season and that’s a good sign. This is a great time to be playing our best basketball and if we can continue to play like this we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
As Wittman said after the win, the Wizards have no interest in looking back. Not only have they found themselves at the right time, but the landscape in the Eastern Conference has shifted, providing more hope about what they can accomplish. […] “We want to get to the Eastern Conference finals,” (John) Wall said.
