Bucks 101, Raptors 94 | Box Score | Quick Reaction | Reaction Podcast
After an impressive road win against the Washington Wizards on Friday night, the Raptors took the late flight up to Milwaukee to face the Bucks Saturday night. It seems as though the Raptors have been at a disadvantage with all the back-to-backs they have been playing recently. But the schedule made this game an even playing field, as the Bucks were also playing on the second half of a back-to-back l facing the Clippers at home the previous night. Heading into last nights game, the Raptors had defeated the Bucks all three times this season, and had taken the last seven games against them, and with a win against the Wizards on Friday the Raptors improved their record since Lowry had surgery to 4-2.
The Raptors would quickly take advantage of the Bucks missing a ton of shots early, despite their own sputtering offense. The Bucks would score 12 points in the first quarter, shooting only 18% from the field missing a ton of open threes, and open shots near the basket. That good start wouldn’t last long, the Raptors bench unit would struggle to contain the Bucks penetration through the middle of the floor. With the defense collapsing on the easy drives to the basket, the Bucks unselfish play would lead to a lot of open threes, and some great ball movement around the perimeter. The Bucks would back up their 12 points in the first quarter, with a blistering 41 points in the second, led by the rookie point guard Malcolm Brogdon who finished off the game scoring 17 points, on 6/13 shooting from the field, and three assists.
Brogdon wasn’t the only player the Raptors had a tough time containing. Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had an expected very efficient game, scoring 21 points, pulling down 10 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season. As per usual Antetokounmpo’s impact wasn’t only felt in the boxscore, as he made some huge defensive plays throughout the game.
Still on a minutes restriction after tearing his hamstring in the offseason, Khris Middleton made his first start of the season and was scoring at will. Finishing the game with a game high 24 points, on 9/14 shooting. While he’s mostly known for his outside shooting, a lot of Middleton’s damage was done on the inside, posting up some of the smaller Raptors defenders.
The Bucks also got a surprise performance out of Spencer Hawes, who was playing in his first game in a Bucks uniform since being traded from the Charlotte Hornets in the beginning of February. Hawes would score 16 points in 17 minutes, only missing one of his shots from the field, and even adding in two shots from beyond the three point line. The Bucks have been searching for a consistent center all season, with Greg Monroe having an up and down season, and Thon Maker still needing to develop some of his skills, maybe Hawes is the center the Bucks have been looking for.
The Raptors would fight hard to the bitter end, but their comeback attempt would fall short. The Raptors would look gassed in the final five minutes, struggling to score, get any dribble penetration past the three point line. DeMar DeRozan who recently had been single handedly destroying defenses down the stretch of games, was made ineffective by the Bucks stellar defense. Finishing the game with only 11 points, on 5/13 shooting, and an extremely rare one attempt from the free throw line. This was only the fourth time this season DeRozan scored less than 15 points in a game, the Bucks did an excellent job at sending a weak side defender to double DeRozan on the high pick and roll when he moved into the corners. If DeRozan didn’t quickly make the correct pass, he was completely trapped in no mans land.
This has been a familiar defensive style seen before from the Bucks this year. The last time these two teams met, the Bucks were sending sometimes even three defenders at Lowry and DeRozan. With Lowry out of the lineup, the Bucks attacked DeRozan as the Raptors primary scorer, and the defense completely halted the Raptors offense for stretches.
The Raptors took another tough hit in the beginning of the third quarter, when starting small forward DeMarre Carroll would go down with an ankle injury while crashing the offensive glass. The Raptors continue to struggle with injuries this year, with Kyle Lowry out with wrist surgery for the rest of the season, Patrick Patterson missing a considerable amount of time with a knee contusion, and even DeRozan missing some time before the All-Star break with an ankle injury, the Raptors have been missing key cogs in their rotations for a majority of the season.
Since trading Terrence Ross to Orlando, the Raptors have gotten a bit thinner in the small forward spot. The addition of P.J. Tucker has helped mightily, and if Carroll does miss time it will be Tucker most likely stepping into the starting role. Carroll has had an inconsistent season, but recently it seems as though he has started to turn a corner. His defense has stepped up, he’s hitting more of his threes, and seems more aggressive with the ball in his hands. With the Raptors getting some time off not playing another game until Wednesday, hopefully Carroll doesn’t miss much time if any at all.
With DeRozan struggling offensively, the Raptors had some nice performances step up in his absence. Newly acquired Serge Ibaka led all Raptors scorers with 19 points, on 7/11 shooting, and provided some stellar rim protection. Cory Joseph also was one of the only Raptors able to create their own shots tonight, but also continues to work incredibly hard on the defensive end. Joseph didn’t have a great start to the season, but these past ten games it really looks like he’s returned to the form he was at last year.
This was a tough game for the Raptors, they looked very tired in the second half, and the Bucks played some fantastic basketball. It will be nice for the Raptors to get a bit of a breather in the schedule after some tough back to backs. With Lowry out of the lineup, there are bound to be games like this. The Raptors continue to show impressive stretches of play on both sides of the floor even without Lowry, the chemistry of adding two big pieces into the lineup is not perfect yet, but the smooth transition has been a nice touch. Although games like this might not be pretty to watch, the Raptors still have time to climb up the Eastern Conference standings, while figuring out where everyone’s going to fit within their depleted rotations.
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