WASHINGTON -- If the Washington Wizards are going to win their first game of the season, avoiding another late collapse would be a good step.Also on the to-do list? Trying to slow down Toronto Raptors scoring star DeMar DeRozan when the Eastern Conference foes meet in Washington on Wednesday night.The Wizards opened the season with back-to-back losses, including Sundays 112-103 overtime setback at the Memphis Grizzlies after leading 96-88 with under four minutes remaining. Grizzlies center Marc Gasols 3-pointer with 15.7 seconds remaining tied the game at 100 and Washington faded as Memphis opened the extra session with 12-0 run.We let it slip out of our hands. We didnt play a great game, guard Bradley Beal said after Washington fell to 0-2 in Memphis. I think weve just got to figure out a way to close out games. We had a chance to win. In overtime the first couple minutes are crucial and once youve got that momentum, its pretty much a gut check. They got a big lead on us and we couldnt score and they won.Washington fell at Atlanta on Thursday 114-99 after the Hawks outscored the Wizards 33-19 in the fourth quarter.DeRozan hasnt trouble scoring in Torontos first three games, including depositing 33 points in Mondays 105-102 home win over the Denver Nuggets. Signed to a five-year, $139 million contract this summer, DeRozan became the first player in Raptors history to open the season with at least 30 points in each of the first three games.Point guard Kyle Lowry added 29 points and put Toronto (2-1) in the lead for good with his first of two field goals over the final 96 seconds.DeMars been great. His offensive (game) right now is unreal, Raptors coach Dwane Casey told the Toronto Star. Kyle stepped up (Monday) and gave him a little boost.DeRozan is averaging 36.0 points while shooting 52.7 percent from the field.Weve got to maintain that and not wear that out, but hes been doing a great job, Casey said of DeRozan.Thats not something many are saying about the Wizards perimeter defense. Washington is allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 47.4 percent from beyond the arc. Memphis sank 15 of 31 3-pointers.We have to guard the 3-point line, first-year Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. Thats what the league is about. You have to be able to do two things. You have to guard the 3-point line and protect the paint. The good teams do that every night.We are building to be a good team and we have to be able to do that. I have a lot of confidence in our guys to do that but its just going to take some time but nobody waits for you. We have to expedite that as soon as we can, but we have to be able to guard the line and the paint. DeRozan averaged 26.5 points against the Wizards as the Raptors swept the 2015-16 season series 4-0. Washington knocked Toronto out of the 2015 playoffs in four games.Three-time All-Star John Wall, who had two knee surgeries this offseason, leads the Wizards in scoring (17.0) and assists (11.5), but is averaging 5.0 turnovers per game.Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. USA Soccer Gear . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Stitched USA Soccer Jerseys . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. USA Soccer Jerseys China . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland.MOSCOW -- The international governing body for the Winter Olympics sport of biathlon said it is creating an expert working group to study allegations of mass Russian doping presented by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren.The International Biathlon Union said in a statement that members with the necessary and relevant experience from both legal and anti-doping work will study the report and provide advice to the IBUs executive board at the earliest possible time. It did not name any particular areas the group would concentrate on.ddddddddddddMcLarens report alleged that more than 1,000 Russian athletes had benefited from a scheme to cover up positive doping tests, with some cases apparently linked to Russias national biathlon team.Russia won one gold and two silver medals in biathlon when it hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. ' ' '