Washington Wizards Coach Wes Unseld Jr. on Center Daniel Gafford Absence

Washington Wizards center Daniel Gafford was noticeably absent as the team lost their grip on a winnable game against the Toronto Raptors.

The Washington Wizards and blowing fourth-quarter leads are becoming more  synonymous than the team would like.

Most recently, the Wizards led for 46 minutes but ended up losing to the Toronto Raptors 111-107.

At one point in the second half, the Wizards led by as many as 23, which qualifies as the second-largest blown lead in franchise history.

Washington Wizards Blow 23 Point Lead in Loss to Toronto Raptors

In the fourth quarter, Toronto did almost all of their damage inside, scoring 22 of their 76 points in the paint.

Those 76 points in the paint is now the most that Washington has allowed this season.

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) shoots the ball at the basket as Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) goes for the block during the fourth quarter at Scotiabank Arena / Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Why did this happen? How could you blow a 23-point lead to a team that made two threes in the second half and was 4-for-20 overall?

A look at the stat sheet may give you an answer as the Wizards' best interior defender, center Daniel Gafford, subbed out with 29 seconds to go in the third quarter and never returned to the game.

"Yes, he was available," Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after the game about Gafford not playing in the fourth quarter. "Would (have) helped probably on the glass a little bit, protecting the rim...I wanted to have another ball handler to burst their pressure."

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Unseld wanted to make sure the Wizards kept the turnovers to a minimum down the stretch, and that makes sense, but it became clear the Raptors noticed Gafford was missing and took advantage of that mistake.

Meet the Wizards: Daniel Gafford

There was no adjustment made as Toronto forward Pascal Siakam continued to bully his way down low ending up with a team-high 39 points, 20 of those coming within five feet.

Siakam scored with eight seconds to go to give the Raptors only their second lead of the game. 

The next possession for Washington resulted in exactly what Unseld was trying to avoid by having more ball handlers and playmakers in the game.

Forward Kyle Kuzma stepped out of bounds on the ensuing inbounds pass and effectively ended the nightmare fourth quarter in a very fitting way, a turnover.

It was a nightmare stretch for the Wizards and they will look to move past it quickly in order to start closing out these winnable games.

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