For Marc:
10 things I saw from Raptors-Bucks (Game 5) – The Defeated
Breakout sensation: Norman Powell has saved the Raptors for a second-straight playoff run. Powell followed up his rock solid effort in Game 4 with a career performance in Game 5. His activity on defense limited Khris Middleton to 8 points, his corner 3-point shot remains wet, and the dunks. Holy shit the dunks. Powell had two flushes at the end where he dunked over two 7-footers, then showed off his insane 40-inch vertical as he took off like a rocket.
Better Raptors revert to the Norm: Arthur | Toronto Star
And Powell, with his don’t-ask-questions style, never seemed to have a moment of doubt. Early in the game Powell, who is six-foot-four in shoes, drove and tried to score over Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is approximately 19 feet tall with his arms outstretched. It didn’t work, but I bet Norm Powell wouldn’t blink if he opened a door and found a tiger on the other side.
And as the game went on, with the Raptors moving the ball, Powell found more cracks than anyone. Powell started 18 games when DeRozan was injured, and then was put back under glass: he played a combined six minutes in the first two games of the series. He’s at a combined 68 the last two games.
“I think Powell has come in with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball,” said Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd. “They are feeding off of that … he’s picked them up here in the last couple of games, just with his energy and his spirit. Somehow we have to match that. We’ve got to have someone who can match his spirit to give us a chance.”
Despite some hiccups the Raptors led nearly wire to wire, and looked like the team they are supposed to be. When they made shots, they seemed more likely to share the ball, starting with Lowry and DeRozan. The ball found energy, and eventually everyone joined in. This was the Raptors team that is better than the Bucks, and should know it.
“I think that’s the biggest thing and the most important thing, is just sharing the ball, and the more you share the ball the more guys get confidence in themselves and the more Kyle and DeMar trust us,” said Carroll, who had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. “So we just got to keep doing it, keep trying to gel.”
Raptors take control of series vs. Bucks with dominant performance – Sportsnet.ca
In a three-minute stretch during the second quarter, the Raptors went three-pointer (Cory Joseph), jumper (Lowry), three-pointer (Patrick Patterson), three-pointer (Lowry) and three-point play (Joseph) as part of a 15-5 run that gave the Raptors a 19-point lead and threatened to put the game out of reach early.
But Raps didn’t close well. They coughed up turnovers and didn’t seem to have an answer for Antetokounmpo, who scored 13 of his game-high 30 in the period. What could have been an overwhelming advantage was whittled to nine by the half.
The third quarter may prove the defining 12 minutes of the series as the Raptors extended their lead, quashing the Bucks threat. They were up 17 to start the fourth in large part because Powell went for 12 points on three shots thanks to two triples and four free throws. Ibaka had five more, as did Carroll. Lowry and DeRozan had five and three of their assists, respectively.
“It’s gotta be a confidence builder in the fact that now guys, they know when they give the ball up that that player has an opportunity to score or has a good rhythm going,” said Casey of having so many show up in the box score as the Raptors had a playoff-record 28 assists. “I thought guys make excellent decisions out of the double team, out of the trap, and everybody that caught it was ready to play, ready to either drive it, pass it, or shoot it.”
Unselfishness leads to Raptors’ Game 5 win over Bucks | Toronto Sun
The Raptors handed out 28 assists, a franchise playoff high. They passed to each other and they fought for each other. When Valanciunas got into a bit of a tussle, his teammates rallied around him.
All in all, there was a united front. Banished from the starting lineup, Valanciunas didn’t whine and sulk — he produced, again. But stats have never mattered to him.
“The most important thing is the win. Doesn’t matter how many points you score, how many rebounds you got, it matters, win. We got it, so I’m feeling great today,” said the big man.
DeMarre Carroll was another redemption story, scoring 12 points, along with six rebounds and a couple of steals.
“I told myself I needed to be more aggressive. I always just come out and set up for threes, but I should be trying to get some easy layups,” Carroll said.
“I felt like the best way for us collectively … (was) just being aggressive.”
Collectively — that was the key.
“The guys that got you here, you may make changes, but a guy may have a bad stretch, but you still have to roll with him,” Casey said.
“Just because Norm (Powell) is starting in front of (Valanciunas) doesn’t mean he’s not a very, very important part of our team. It takes 15 guys, that’s why you have 15 under contract. There’s going to be a night or a game or a series that somebody, it’s gonna be their turn. It’s up to us to try to find that matchup or that guy who’s gonna make that difference.”
Court Squeaks: Powell continues to rise up in big Raptors playoff games – Video – TSN
Josh Lewenberg and Matthew Scianitti discuss how Norman Powell continues to rise to the occasion in the Raptors’ biggest playoff games, explain why Kyle Lowry’s performance in Game 5 was the ‘gutsiest of his career’, and shed light on how DeMarre Carroll, Serge Ibaka and Powell built the momentum that the team rode to victory.
Norm Powell dazzles in Raptors’ Game 5 win over Bucks | Toronto Sun
Barring Kyle Lowry’s aching back suddenly making him unable to go in Game 6 on Thursday in Milwaukee, the Raptors seem to have finally rounded into form from the starting five to the next four off the bench.
As a team, they shot 57.7% from the floor and an impressive 44% from distance in the game. They owned the boards, out-rebounding Milwaukee an astounding 40-23. They turned 15 turnovers into 28 points and came up just three shy of an all-time franchise mark for assists in a playoff game with 28.
Newest starter Norm Powell, in just his second game since re-joining the rotation, led all Raptors with 25 points.
Powell’s insertion into the starting five has so far resulted in two wins, a much-needed confidence-building one in Game 4 and then Monday’s blowout.
“It’s great,” DeMar DeRozan said of having Powell start the game alongside himself and Lowry. “It takes the pressure off (and allows us) to do other things to space out the floor. Norm did a great job of bringing the ball up being aggressive, getting to the basket, making the right plays. Just taking the pressure off us offensively.”
About the only thing the Raptors didn’t do that well was protect the ball, turning it over 18 times, assuming of course you are willing to overlook the 50% shooting night the Bucks had in their loss.
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Raptors win Game 5 with Kyle Lowry playing through pain | Toronto Star
Lowry’s teammates definitely gave him reason for wanting to play with the way the dismantled the young Bucks, who looked shell-shocked most of the night.
All five starters and backup Jonas Valanciunas scored in double figures — Norm Powell led the way with 25 points — and the Raptors dished out 28 assists. That’s more than they’ve had in playoff game in the current four-year run they are on and was quite the opposite of the way the team usually plays.
There were any number of times when the Raptors made not only the right first pass out of Bucks trap but an even smarter second one that yielded an even better shot.
“That comes from getting a rhythm against some of their traps, some of their double teams,” Casey said. “But again, at end of the day, at the end of it, you’ve got to be ready to shoot the basketball. They (the Bucks defenders) get there so fast but tonight we had a better feel for it.”
The Raptors also beat back any run the Bucks made at them with a defence that wasn’t consistently good but one that was solid when it had to be. Giannis Antetokounmpo got loose for 30 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 19 but no other Milwaukee player was effective.
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Lowry battles through sore back to come up big for Raptors – Sportsnet.ca
Now, who’s to say the Raptors wouldn’t have pulled themselves together and stopped the Bucks’ run without Lowry back on the floor. Basketball’s a funny game like that. But as soon as Lowry checked back in, the bleeding stopped, and the Raptors went into halftime with a nine-point lead. In the final minute of the half, Lowry was especially vocal and commanding, yelling out orders and motioning to his teammates as he carried the ball up the floor.
He started the second half in distributor mode, moving the ball quickly to his teammates, letting DeRozan handle the drives, and picking up a pair of assists in the first two minutes (he finished the third quarter with five assists in nine minutes, and not a single shot attempt).
About four minutes into the third, Lowry casually dribbled the ball up the floor, made a slick behind-the-back move to get past Khris Middleton, shot straight beneath the Bucks basket, and found an unguarded Norman Powell in the corner. Powell drained a three right in front of the Bucks bench, taking advantage of a look that was so open because Lowry ran off his drive directly into Tony Snell, impeding the Bucks guard just enough to give Powell the time he needed.
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2017 Playoffs: Game 5 Recap – Raptors 118, Bucks 93 | Toronto Raptors
WE THE NORM IN THE THIRD
A season ago, in Toronto’s first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, Norman Powell came off the bench to help lead a furious second-half comeback. He says that fans still tweet him clips of the game-tying dunk he had in the fourth quarter. In Monday’s Game 5, Powell started his second game of the series and he contributed a perfect third quarter to keep Toronto in front and turn a nine-point halftime lead into a 17-point advantage going into the fourth. Powell scored 12 of Toronto’s 33 points in the third, on a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Toronto shot 67 percent in the quarter, while holding the Bucks to 41 percent as the Raptors outscored Milwaukee 33-25 in the third.
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NBA Playoffs Final Score: Bucks Get Blown Out by Sweet Shooting Raptors, 118-93 – Brew Hoop
Toronto was averaging 7.8 three-point attempts from the corners coming into tonight, third most in the playoffs. Not surprising given the Bucks penchant for giving up that prime look. However, tonight they had 14 such shots, making six of those. Toronto getting that shot was indicative of their improved ball movement tonight, and went hand in hand with their team’s series-high 68.2 assist percentage.
Stella Medley on Instagram: “We’re … #game5 #playoffs #raptorsdancepak @nelornever”
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Notes: Bucks-Raptors deal in 2015 keeps giving for Toronto – Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Bucks were not going to take Norman Powell in the 2015 draft.
But that hardly mattered Monday night as the second-year forward tore them apart in the Toronto Raptors’ 118-93 victory at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors romped in a pivotal fifth game as the 6-foot-4 Powell started for the second straight game and scored 25 points.
The Bucks selected Powell for the Raptors in a draft night deal, and also sent them a 2017 first-round pick, in exchange for guard Greivis Vasquez. The former Raptors guard never made an impact for Milwaukee and was out most of the 2015-’16 season with a foot injury.
Toronto used one of its two first-round picks in the 2017 draft as part of its trade deadline deal with Orlando for Serge Ibaka. And Powell is the gift that keeps giving for the Raptors.
“Powell has come in with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball and they’re feeding off of that,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s playing extremely hard and he’s knocking down shots. He’s in there to play defense.
Milwaukee Bucks Go Down 3-2 After Game 5 Loss To Toronto Raptors – Behind the Bucks Pass
The Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t stop the Toronto Raptors’ offense and gave up 118 points as the Raptors took their first lead of the series.
The series has tilted in Toronto’s favor, as Thursday’s game in Milwaukee could now see them clinch. A great offensive effort from the Toronto Raptors gave them a first quarter lead that the Milwaukee Bucks wouldn’t breach.
Two quick three-pointers from Malcolm Brogdon helped the Bucks go up 8-7 to start the game, but Ibaka also started off strong, scoring seven of the Raptors first nine points. The Raptors took advantage of sloppy turnovers by the Bucks to go on a 17-point run.
Greg Monroe checked into the game, and scored six straight points for the Bucks, which helped the Bucks go on a nine-point run of their own to cut the lead back to just six. Still down 26-20, the last minute and a half belonged to the Raptors, who scored the last five points to hold a 31-20 lead after the first quarter. Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka started strong, each with 9 points.
Raptors 118, Bucks 93: Powell’s heroics give Toronto 3-2 lead – Journal Sentinel
The Raptors shot 57.7% from the field (41 of 71) and hit 12 of 27 three-point attempts.
Kidd said the Bucks are learning how to respond in a series and will be tested again in Game 6 at home.
“We’re lacking the experience of what’s coming,” Kidd said. “We can talk about it, but we have to go through that process. We have to walk through that door.
“For a lot of these guys, they’ve never seen this. You’re talking about a team (Toronto) that has been to the Eastern Conference finals. They’ve been there. You go down, 3-2, you’ve got to go home and try to protect home and force a Game 7. That’s all we can focus on now is Game 6. And we’ve got to be desperate and hungry.”
Brogdon added 19 points for the Bucks and found a rhythm by hitting 7 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 three-pointers.
He said the Raptors have momentum and confidence and the Bucks will have to work hard to force a seventh game.
“If we don’t come out and give the energy we need to, then we’ll lose and be done,” Brogdon said. “It’s that simple.
NBA Playoffs, Raptors vs. Bucks, Game 5: Everyone shows up, Toronto wins big 118-93 – Raptors HQ
Serge Ibaka set the tone early, with two massive dunks on Giannis Antetokounmpo, and went on to bounce back from his shaky Game 4 shooting performance. He went 8-of-10 from the field for 19 points, with six rebounds and three blocks. Likewise, DeMar DeRozan had another solid game — which seems almost perfunctory now, Game 3 notwithstanding — with 18 points and 6 assists. When you begin to add these all up, one realizes all five Raptors starters finished in double figures, with a franchise-high 28 assists. The team shot 58 percent from the field, 44 percent from three, 92 percent from the line. And only Giannis, with 30 points, and Malcolm Brogdon with 19, could get anything going against the Raptors’ swarming D. It was everything.
Oh and Lowry? He took a charge early on Monroe, fell or dove to the floor multiple times, and played like he always plays, which is: all out, constantly moving, not ready to say die. It wasn’t the best seeing Lowry stretched out on the floor to ease the soreness in his back — but still, a neat 16 points and 10 assists in 36 minutes. His Raptors looked like the best version of themselves for most of the game. What’s more, they won going away. We didn’t have to feel nervous for the entire 48 minutes. They head to Milwaukee now, up 3-2, looking to close it out. How’s that for a story?
Lowry shows his toughness playing through pain | Toronto Sun
It was confusing night for Casey on a game where the coach did just about everything right. His move of Powell to the starting lineup and Jonas Valanciunas to the bench may have tipped the series in the Raptors favour. The Raptors starting lineup were all in double figures. Combined, the five of them outscored Milwaukee’s starting lineup 90-72.
And all the while Casey had to keep talking to Lowry. Asking. Prodding. Trying to determine how much he could push, how far he could push. Lowry still led the Raptors with time on the floor. But it was less time than usual for him.
“It’s very difficult because I kept checking with him during the game,” Casey said. “How you feeling? How you feeling? How you feeling? If you leave him out too long, his back stiffens up even more. So that’s what we had to watch. We were going on feel.” Lowry isn’t worried so much about Tuesday as he is about Game 6 in Milwaukee. He didn’t figure he would sleep last night. This isn’t his mind racing, which keeps so many athletes awake post game. Here, he’s just trying to find the right position to be comfortable. And now he has two days of treatment ahead.
“He’s a tough kid,” said Casey. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”
DeMarre Carroll plays rare significant role in Raptors’ Game 5 win – Sportsnet.ca
If Powell’s been a forgotten man for a week, Carroll’s been forgotten for much of his entire two seasons years with the Raptors – concerning, since a D and 3 guy is a valuable commodity in an NBA that continues to jack up threes at a remarkable rate.
“You can’t be on a roller coaster, every game in the playoffs,” Casey said, when asked about Carroll’s performance. “DeMarre started well, had a tough stretch but bounced back in the third.
“Guys don’t forget how to play.”
Truth is, the fruits of this performance might not be felt until the next series, should the Raptors advance to play the Cleveland Cavaliers where it figures once again to be an all hands on deck affair. Whatever happens to the Raptors this post-season, whenever, wherever and however it ends, the addition of Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker was supposed to prevent the Raptors from simply running out of gas – important, given this team’s predilection to do stuff the hardest way possible.
The Keg Must See: Valanciunas, Monroe get heated with shoving match – Video – TSN
Late in the third quarter, Jonas Valanciunas comes up with a big block on Greg Monroe and Monroe makes sure to let the Raptors centre know what he thought of his hard play on the other end as both players get into a shoving match.
What do the Raptors need to do in Game 6 to close out the Bucks? – Video – TSN
Nik Stauskas explains how the key to the Raptors’ Game 5 win was shutting down the Bucks’ supporting cast, and sheds light on what Toronto needs to do in Game 6 to close the series out.
Raptors dunk their way to 3-2 series lead over Bucks – The Globe and Mail
The Raptors returned home after splitting games on the road with Milwaukee, and had a dominant win. Powell was remarkable in his second straight start, recording four 3-pointers, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and thrilled with dunks and hustle plays.
“It’s all about giving myself up for the team,” said Powell. “I’m trying to get better, whether it’s coming off the bench, cheering for Kyle and DeMar, the guys on the floor, going in there, making hustle plays, focusing on defence, pushing the ball in transition….just trying to accomplish the things that I have set out for myself within the aspect of the team.”
Five other Raptors scored in double digits, including Kyle Lowry (16), Serge Ibaka (19), DeMar DeRozan (18), DeMarre Carroll (12), and Cory Joseph (10), who also had 10 assists.
Lowy started the game, even though he sat out Monday morning’s shoot-around due to stiffness in his back. He was visibly in pain at some points in the game, and was lying on the floor when he was out.
“Once you stop and sit down, it sucks. You’ve got to just keep going,” said Lowry. “I just want to be out there with my guys.”
The Raps went with the same starting lineup that produced a win on Saturday – Powell starting at small forward to guard Khris Middleton, while Jonas Valaniunas came off the bench.
The Rise of the Raptors’ Cellar-to-Contender Duo – The Ringer
“When you’re playing overseas,” he says, “you’re expected to be the best offensive player on your team and the best defensive player on your team. But to find your place in the NBA you just have to be smart, to think about what makes you unique. I can’t score like DeMar DeRozan. I just can’t. So then I think, ‘I’m going to be great at spacing the floor. I’m going to learn how to shoot corner 3s and make the right pass. And then I’m going to do what I’m here to do, and that’s play great defense.’”
Learning to be a specialist, he says, can be even more rewarding than assuming a team’s complete offensive and defensive loads. Tucker finds himself better-suited to mastery in a few skills rather than proficiency in them all. “You’re digging into the details,” he says. “You’re finding those small things that give you that edge. I love that.” And even though the NBA has given him the chance to pour himself into defense in a way he never could in Europe, he refuses to point to this moment as some grand culmination, some payoff for his years of work. It was never about reaching this point, Tucker insists, any more than it was about every other point along the way.
“I always knew I belonged here,” he says. “It’s not one of those things where now I can say, ‘I’m finally here. I finally belong.’ No. No. I always knew I could play this game at the highest level. There are a ton of guys right now who aren’t in the NBA who have the talent to be here. It’s about getting on the right team, getting an opportunity to show what you can do.
“That’s what I had in Phoenix. I have it here, too.”
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