Fans pack Maple Leafs Square, but Raptors fall to Wizards in Game 1

TORONTO – It was two hours before the opening tip and Paul Charles was standing towards the back of Maple Leafs Square with his six-year-old son Kiro.

They got up early Saturday morning to catch the Go Train from Ajax into downtown Toronto because Paul wanted Kiro to experience this.

The father-son duo have been inside the Air Canada Centre for Raptors games before – they were at two playoff games last year – but Charles feels there’s something different about standing outside and watching the game on a big screen with thousands of cheering fans.

“It’s one thing to have the experience inside the ACC, but I think [watching in the Square] is a richer experience,” said Charles, who was dressed in a black and gold Raptors long sleeve and a red toque.

Clearly many others also feel the same way.

Much like last season, when the Raptors made the playoffs for the first time in six years, fans showed up early – and in droves – packing the area around the ACC that’s been dubbed ‘Jurassic Park.’ Some dressed in red and white while others opted for the team’s throwback purples.

There were flags, inflatable cheering sticks and spray painted beards. One fan even went as far as shaving the Raptors' claw logo into the back of his head.

No, there certainly wasn’t any shortage of enthusiasm ahead of the team's first playoff game and fans who showed up did so in style.

That includes Toronto mayor John Tory, who donned a ‘We The North Jacket and posed for pictures with fans outside while also taking a shot at Washington Wizards veteran Paul Pierce.

Pierce made headlines earlier in the week for saying, “I don't feel [the Raptors] have the 'it' [factor] that makes you worried."

“We’ll see what goes on in the building this afternoon and I have a feeling we may have to sort of grind those words up, put them in a bowl and make him eat them,” Tory said.

And then, of course, there was Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, who was given a loud ovation as he stepped to the podium to address the crowd just minutes before the opening tip.

There were many who were curious about what Ujiri might have to say to the crowd after he dropped an F-bomb prior to game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets a year ago.

And while Ujiri didn’t call out the entire Wizards franchise, he had a few profanity-laced words for Pierce.

“I know everybody wants me to say something about Paul Pierce,” Ujiri said in front of the cheering crowd. “But here is what I’m going to say. We don’t give a s*** about it.”

Unfortunately for Ujiri, mayor Tory and Raptors fans both inside and outside the building, it was Pierce who proved to be the X-factor for the Wizards as they downed the Raptors 93-86 in overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The 15-year NBA veteran scored 20 points, including 10 in the second quarter that helped turn the tide in the Wizards favour, on 7-of-10 from the field. He also drained a three-pointer early in overtime, stealing away the momentum the Raptors had built up late in the fourth quarter.

Amir Johnson led the way for Toronto with 18 points, while Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan struggled, combining for just 22 points on 8-of-30 from the field.

As a team the Raptors shot an abysmal 38 per cent from the floor and the Wizards were only slightly better finishing the afternoon at 39.4 per cent.

“Our shooters were 15-for-57,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said after the loss. “Those are shots we have to take and we’re going to continue to take them because that’s who we are . . . We had great looks, I believe in our shooters and they believe in themselves. That part I’m not concerned about. They’re not going to miss that many shots again.”

A lot of the discussion around the Raptors over the last few months has centred around whether or not they'd be able flick on the switch come playoff time.

They were the top team in the Eastern Conference the first two-plus months of the season, but they’ve struggled since the all-star break playing sub-.500 basketball and their flaws as a team, specifically defence and rebounding, have shone through.

And while they fought back in Game 1 Saturday and forced overtime thanks to a 21-8 run in the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter that was topped off by a last minute three pointer from Greivis Vasquez, giving the Wizards big second-chance opportunities and an inability to generate any offence in the extra frame, cost them.

“They got three-straight offensive rebounds [in overtime] that broke our back,” Casey said. “I thought that took our will and our little mojo we had going in.”

Time will tell if they can get that mojo back for Game 2, which goes Tuesday in Toronto.