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Paul Pierce had his arms wrapped around John Wall and Bradley Beal as the trio shared a chuckle on the bench in the fourth quarter. A smiling Wall waved his towel and strutted in the corner as he cheered on some of his seldom-used teammates.
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Sunday's series finale between the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors was never in doubt.
Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Wall added 14 points and 10 assists and Washington routed Toronto 125-94 to sweep their Eastern Conference first-round set.
The Wizards have won their first-round playoff series in consecutive years after winning just two in the 34 seasons prior. Sunday also marked the first time they swept an opponent in a seven-game series.
Washington immediately raced out to a big advantage and led by as many as 37 in the second half.
Toronto, meanwhile, failed to win a playoff game after setting a franchise record for victories.
Beal posted 23 points, five assists and four steals and Pierce scored 14 for the fifth-seeded Wizards, who shot 55.4 percent (41-of-74) from the field and made 15-of-26 from beyond the arc.
They will play either top-seeded Atlanta or eighth-seeded Brooklyn in the conference semifinals. The Hawks lead that series 2-1.
Kyle Lowry recorded 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Toronto, which has tallied just one playoff series victory in its history -- a first- round win over New York in 2001.
Nene's jumper midway through the opening frame capped a 9-1 spurt and staked the hosts to an 18-8 margin.
The Wizards, who made 13-of-15 attempts from the foul line in the first while Toronto made its lone try, were up 36-22 following a quarter of play and took a 66-50 cushion into the break.
Pierce hit a pair of early triples in the third to extend the advantage to 22 and Beal sunk three foul shots in the waning moments of the period after being fouled on a 3 to make it a 102-70 spread going into the fourth.
[SportsNetwork.com]
