TORONTO — Kawhi Leonard poured in 27 points, and the Toronto Raptors rediscovered their three-point touch in a 125-107 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday.
The win was the Raptors' fourth in a row, and at 16-4, made for their best start through 20 games in franchise history.
Kyle Lowry added 15 points and nine assists for the Raptors.
Toronto shot a season's best 17-for-39 from three-point range.
The Raptors' second unit outscored Washington's 59-39. OG Anunoby, playing his first game after missing three with a wrist injury, led the way with 15 points, while Fred VanVleet chipped in with 13, Serge Ibaka had 12, and Delon Wright chipped in with 10.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards (6-12) with 20 points.
The Raptors were home from a 3-1 road trip, their one loss coming in overtime in Boston to kick off the trip. They were playing their first game at Scotiabank Centre since Dwane Casey led his Detroit Pistons to comeback — and revenge — victory over his old team.
The Raptors led by as many as 16 points in the first half before the Wizards, Toronto's first-round opponent in last season's playoffs, opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run to briefly take the lead. But Toronto closed the third with a 15-6 run to lead 101-87 with one quarter to play.
The Wizards would pull within 10 points early in the fourth, but by the time Lowry chucked up a circus shot with four and a half minutes to play, the Raptors were fully in the driver's seat with a 114-99 lead.
The Raptors struggled from three-point range on the road, shooting 38 per cent from long distance in their 124-108 win in Atlanta on Wednesday.
"We are shooting it not very well and I'm crossing my fingers and rubbing my rabbit's foot that hopefully some of those shots start going in," coach Nick Nurse said prior to Friday's tip-off. "I think it'll go back to the norm, and that's good news."
His words proved prophetic. The Raptors missed their first four three-point attempts before the flood gates opened.
"We're looking for certain shots and we've got goals each game of which shots we're looking for," Nurse explained selection analytics. "We're meeting those and exceeding those guidelines."
The Raptors, who'd beaten the Wizards 117-113 in Washington on Oct. 19, debuted their gold-on-white OVO city edition jerseys designed in collaboration with Drake, who was in his courtside seat for the first time this season.
After their four three-point misses, back-to-back threes by Ibaka and Danny Green kick-started the barrage. Toronto had seven threes in the first quarter, and led 38-26 to start the second.
A reverse layup by Delon Wright gave Toronto a 16-point cushion less than a minute into the second, but the Wizards closed the gap and a three-pointer by Tomas Satoransky cut Toronto's lead to 70-62 at halftime.
The Raptors host Miami on Sunday, then play in Memphis on Tuesday before returning home to host the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press
