 | Milwaukee | 127 | Final Box Score | 131 | Toronto |  |
 A- | S. Ibaka38 MIN, 11 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 5-19 FG, 0-5 3FG, 1-1 FT, 4 BLK, 2 TO, 8 +/- Ibaka had three potential block-of-the-year candidates. Two were transition swats on Bledsoe, who will wake up in the cold, dark nights of his sweaty terror for weeks. One was on Giannis to help the Raps climb back into the game in regulation. His shot was off, but I care not. | |
 A+ | O. Anunoby35 MIN, 1 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 16 +/- Without a doubt the third most important Raptor tonight. He maintained his team-leading +/- WITHOUT SCORING A FIELD GOAL. How? His defence is light years ahead of where it should be. He navigates screens, communicates, switches, and contests shots like the league’s best defenders. He was baptized in Greek fire tonight and emerged unscathed. | |
 Inc | J. Valanciunas16 MIN, 6 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 7 +/- I’m not sure what happened, to be honest. The team played relatively well in his minutes, but he couldn’t unglue his giant ass from the bench in the 2nd half and overtime. Casey must have seen something on the defensive end he didn’t like. Good fight on the glass in his limited minutes, but not a great matchup, clearly. | |
 A+ | K. Lowry41 MIN, 26 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 7-13 FG, 5-9 3FG, 7-10 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 11 +/- This was a KLOE(but DeMar) game. Initially, he fit in around the edges: solid screen setting, good rebounding, and timely catch-and-shoot jumpers. He took over the the 4th and OT, hitting clutch 3s and getting impossible stops in the post for a man his size. | |
 A+ | D. DeRozan43 MIN, 52 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 17-29 FG, 5-9 3FG, 13-13 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/- GOAT. Record setter. MVP? | |
 B+ | F. VanVleet22 MIN, 11 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 4-7 FG, 2-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/- Man, this was a roller coaster. Fred missed a lot of shots early, and he was a huge part of the reason in the first 40 minutes that the Raptors couldn’t build a lead. Koreen even called him out on Twitter. Then he hit two clutch 3s and all was forgiven. | |
 C+ | D. Wright19 MIN, 8 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-3 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Don’t be fooled by the highlight of his crazy steal and dunk under the Bucks’ basket. Delon had a tough game in which his refusal to shoot the 3 hurt him. He missed a 3 in the 1st quarter and then twice dribbled into traffic, forcing tough shots, afterwards. Middleton feasted on his defence throughout, though Delon did have a ridiculous block of his own. | |
 B | J. Poeltl17 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/- His minutes were relatively limited because Thon Maker nailed a bunch of 3s in his grill. He showed some versatility on defence and had a few nifty layups on offence. | |
 C+ | C. Miles17 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 3-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/- This was a game in which his quick trigger couldn’t help the Raps enough to justify his playing. He hit some nasty 3s, but he didn’t offer enough to earn minutes. Fred stole Miles’ minutes, and it was justified. His defence wasn’t there. | |
 F | P. Siakam16 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Ouch. Dude’s mind was crawling tonight – it looked like he was a rookie all over again. He was so tentative, just refusing to make decisions. Basically, he looked hungover. | |
 A+ | N. Powell0 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- He needs time to get his head right. | |
 A- | Dwane Casey Even though he couldn’t get the Raps to play any sort of defence for 40 minutes, there were some positive signs. After iso-balling out at the end of the 4th (and it, uhhh, failing), Casey learned. The team’s offence in overtime was much better, and the Bucks’ traps were exposed. Solid end-of-game coaching. | |
Things We Saw
- Props to DeMar. You thought I really wouldn’t write about him at all? He hit 3s off the catch and off the dribble, which makes him completely unstoppable. After a 21 point first quarter, he immediately transitioned to passing and play-making to immolate the Bucks’ traps. Dude just wants to win. No defence could stop him. BUT THAT WASN’T EVEN THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PART. He locked up Giannis on defence, moving his feet, using his body, and forcing tough, contested jumpers on several occasions. He even kept Brogdon from attempting a game-winning shot at the end of regulation! Just a beast. MVP-caliber game on both sides of the ball. It’s clear that at his best, there are no better players in the league. There is no more deserving record holder for most points in franchise history.
- Counterpoint: the defence, outside of DeRozan’s newfound passion, was weak. The much-vaunted bench brought nothing on that end of the floor. The team tightened up at the end of the game, but it never should have been that close. The Raptors gave up countless easy points, and they need to ratchet up the intensity.
- The starters continued their rampage. They won the first 6 minutes (when Brogdon checked in as the first bench player) 18-9.
- Counterpoint: The Raps need someone to step up on offence other than Lowry and DeRozan. This was a classic win for the Raps of the past few years: two stars dominate, let the rest of the players fight for scraps. Hopefully this was just a blip on the radar, and the Raps let the hot hand fire in DeRozan away.
