Quick Reaction: Raptors 105, Bucks 115

TOR Raptors 105 Final Box Score 115 MIL Bucks C P. Siakam32 MIN, 16 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 7-19 FG, 2-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/- Rough night for Pascal. He had some moments in the second half where he contributed offensively, but he simply has to be…

TOR Raptors105Final
Box Score
115MIL Bucks

C
P. Siakam32 MIN, 16 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 7-19 FG, 2-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/-

Rough night for Pascal. He had some moments in the second half where he contributed offensively, but he simply has to be better than he was tonight and has to be more careful with his fouls, which were a problem. In the first half when the offense wasn’t working at all, they could’ve used their new star creating something and he came up empty. Can’t do that against a team like the Bucks.

A
O. Anunoby31 MIN, 9 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 3-5 FG, 2-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -11 +/-

The line doesn’t pop, but OG was one of the guys who hit the shots he had tonight, and more than that, he was the best defender the Raptors had against Giannis. It’s not on him that he wasn’t used well enough at times.

C
M. Gasol34 MIN, 10 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 4-12 FG, 2-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -6 +/-

At a glance, 10 points and 12 rebounds is a nice outing from Marc, but it’s the shots he missed, and more importantly, the ones he turned down, that really hurt the team in this game. He needs to be a willing shooter and scorer, and he often wasn’t on a night when the Raptors needed a guy to step up.

A+
K. Lowry38 MIN, 36 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 11-18 FG, 5-9 3FG, 9-9 FT, 1 BLK, 6 TO, -2 +/-

Lowry was the best Raptor on the floor, and it wasn’t close. He carried the team back into the game when they went down 26 and he put them in range to win it at the end, with little help at times. Half his turnovers were passes that his teammates weren’t prepared for. He just needed a little more from the guys around him in this game, and he didn’t get it, but for Kyle’s part, he did enough.

C
F. VanVleet41 MIN, 12 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST, 0 STL, 2-10 FG, 2-5 3FG, 6-6 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -14 +/-

There were some really good moments from Fred in this one. There was also a lot of him hijacking the offense with Pascal and Kyle watching, and that just can’t happen when he doesn’t have it like he didn’t in this game.

B+
S. Ibaka22 MIN, 11 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 3-10 FG, 0-1 3FG, 5-6 FT, 4 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/-

Ibaka wasn’t bad in this game and the moment where he was good were important, including some key blocks during the comeback stretch. Needed to be stronger on the boards, and they could’ve used a few more of his shots going down, but it’s hard to put this on him.

C
N. Powell19 MIN, 4 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1-5 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -9 +/-

Tough night for Norm against a team that he’s normally good against. Wasn’t a good defensive game from him, wasn’t hitting his shots, and had a turnover at the end of the game when he simply wasn’t paying attention while Kyle tried to inbound to him.

B+
T. Davis9 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/-

Only a few minutes for Davis, but they were good minutes. Played solid defense, even when he was asked to guard Giannis, and looked like he belonged. Probably deserves to get more minutes given how comfortable he’s looked.

B
M. Thomas9 MIN, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/-

Thomas got some first half run and was the only guy other than Lowry to hit a field goal in the first quarter. Was brought in for his shooting, ostensibly, and hit his shots, so it’s hard to complain about that.

Inc
C. Boucher4 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/-

Wasn’t in the game enough to really evaluate.

D
Nick Nurse

Nurse made some good adjustments, including going to OG on Giannis, but they felt a little late all night in this one. Left OG on the bench too long at the end of the game while the Bucks held the lead, and the offense was running through the wrong guys late. Needed to be just a little better, or have his team a little more prepared at the outset.

Things We Saw

  1. I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. The Raptors didn’t show up early, built themselves a big hole, and then tried to drag themselves out of it against a very good team. That’s an unlikely scenario to get the win, and they still somehow gave themselves a shot at it through Kyle’s heroics, but they always fell just a little short when they had opportunities to drag it back. This was a good effort to get back into this game, but the hole didn’t have to be dug.
  2. Emotional impact can be different for different teams. Perhaps it was the way the ECF went, but the Bucks were just more mentally ready to play at the outset and that probably decided this game. It might’ve meant more to the Bucks than the Raptors. At the end of the day, it’s one game out of 82, and it’s hard to worry too much about the outcome of this one.
  3. Still, it’s hard to waste that Kyle Lowry effort. He was phenomenal, and it would’ve been nice to see the team reward that effort from their leader with a victory.