It hasn’t taken long during this first-round NBA playoff series to see the difference between the top-seeded Toronto Raptors and eighth-seeded Washington Wizards.

The separation starts soon after tip-off with Toronto dismantling Washington’s defense, finding open three-point shooters and getting easy looks under the rim. The Raptors lead two games to none in the best-of-seven series largely because of leads built in the first quarter.

In Saturday’s opener, Washington trailed 10-4 before Coach Scott Brooks used his first timeout. On Tuesday, the Wizards made the first shot to hold a 2-0 lead then didn’t lead the rest of the night. Toronto blitzed defenders from beyond the three-point arc and opened a 22-point advantage en route to scoring 44 points in the first quarter, the most by a Wizards opponent this season.

The Raptors have outscored Washington 72-50 in first quarters. Ahead of Game 3 on Friday night at Capital One Arena, the Wizards are looking to reverse their bad starts.

“We have to have a better first quarter,” Brooks said after Thursday’s practice. “We need a better start. All five guys need to lock in defensively. They’ve gotten free for a lot of jump shots and give them credit, they made them — seven threes in the first quarter [Tuesday] — but we did a pretty good job other than that, from that standpoint.

“But we got to be a little better,” Brooks repeated. “We got to have a better start. It’s not the only thing but we have to start there.”

Brooks did not reveal a plan to switch up his starting five. In the moments after the Game 2 loss, Brooks showed a bit of irritation and strongly hinted that backup forward Mike Scott could replace Marcin Gortat at center. By Thursday, Brooks had perfected his poker face.

“That’s part of being a coach. That’s part of being on a good team. You have to make those adjustments and whatever those adjustments are, you have to be able to have players willing to sacrifice themselves for the team, and we have that,” Brooks said. “Whoever we start, whoever plays late minutes, we’re going to have to play better than we have the last two games.”

That’s especially true for Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr., who have not have positive impacts.

Beal spent much of Game 2 in a daze. He made bad decisions to hack at three-point shooters. Frustrated while in foul trouble, he turned passive on the offensive end. By the fourth quarter, Beal’s below-the-rim layup provided easy prey for Raptors center Serge Ibaka, who swatted the feeble attempt to the delight of the Air Canada Centre crowd.

Beal registered fewer made shots (three) than fouls (four) in Game 2 and produced the lowest plus-minus rating (-34) among any Wizards player from the previous 20 postseasons. For the series, Beal, who led the Wizards in scoring and shots during the season, is shooting 39.3 percent on just 14 field goal attempts. Wall has a solution for his teammate’s slump: shoot.

“With [Beal] being in foul trouble last game, it was kind of tough for him to find a rhythm,” Wall said. “[The] game before I think he got some shots. He missed a couple easy shots. At the same time, I told him at times he has to be more aggressive. Just be more aggressive and look for your shot. That’s all you can really ask for, just be more aggressive on that end and look for your shot more.”

This season, Beal hasn’t needed the call to be more aggressive, though Porter continues to hear the criticism.

Porter, who shot 52 percent from beyond the arc after the all-star break, did not attempt a three-pointer in the Wizards’ 130-119 loss Tuesday. By the second half, Porter, much like other starters in the frontcourt, played fewer minutes. Backup Kelly Oubre Jr. replaced Porter as Washington attempted a comeback. Brooks made it clear that Porter’s limited minutes had nothing to do with his previously suffered right calf strain (“He’s 100 percent healthy,” Brooks said.)

The team also found a spark in an unexpected place: Ty Lawson played 31 minutes of fun and fast basketball in his Wizards debut. Unencumbered by the mental challenges afflicting his new teammates, Lawson created looks for others while leading the bench unit. When Wall entered the game, Lawson shifted to play off the ball.

“It was good. I mean, it was just two guys that can push the pace,” Wall said of himself and Lawson, who finished with 14 points and eight assists. “Two guys that can create for each other and create for other players on the court. And we just tried to get out and be very aggressive and push the pace. He was able to knock down some threes and space the floor for us, and that was big.”

With home-court advantage and no excuses, the Wizards recognize the importance of a strong start Friday.

“In order to do this, we have to do it together and we all have to figure out how to play better, myself included,” Brooks said. “I have to do a better job coaching, and our players have to do a better job of playing. It’s as simple as that.”

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