The Toronto Raptors came, saw and they conquered in a 90-83 win over the Milwaukee Bucks to extend their winning streak to three games. Led by DeMar DeRozan’s 27 points, the Raptors were able to come away with a win that was closer than expected.
Once again the Raptors started the game off slow, trailing the Bucks 13-4 early but quickly turned things around with a 20-4 run to end the first quarter. The Raptors went into intermission, leading by 18 but the second youngest team in the NBA wasn’t going to play dead. The Bucks outscored the Raptors 46-32 in the second half, cutting the Raptors lead to just 4 with 5:01 left to play in the fourth quarter. Trading baskets back and forth, Kyle Lowry was able to put the nail in the coffin late, with a left hand layup with 0:24.4 seconds left in the game to give the Raptors a 90-83 lead. It’s frustrating to see the Raptors once again play down to the competition, and show some serious sloppiness, but a win’s a win’s a win.
The Raptors continue their home stand with the Philadelphia Sixers coming to town on Sunday evening as they look to extend their winning streak to four games.
Offence: B+
The Raptors looked great offensively tonight, pretty much doing what they liked on that end of the court. Toronto had four players in double-figures while everyone that was on the court for Dwane Casey was able to score a basket. The Raptors shot 48.6% from the field while also shooting a solid 35% from beyond the arc, hitting seven three pointers.
Defence: B+
Defensively, the Raptors looked amazing in the first half allowing the Buck to just 31 points while shooting a horrid 28.6 percent from the field. Casey ran with a tight eight-man rotation tonight that had 7/8 of the players all record a block. Even though the Bucks started to catch fire in the second half, the Raptors were still able to hold them to 41.2% shooting from the field for the entire game.
Rebounding: C+
The Raptors who are still without Jonas Valanciunas who is out with a left hand injury, were sub-par on the glass tonight. Getting out-rebounded by the worst rebounding team in the NBA is unacceptable from the Raptors. The Bucks out-rebounded them 40-39 but on the bright side Luis Scola, who silently had a deadly game, was able to grab eight rebounds in total while also snatching a game-high four offensive rebounds.
Game Ball: DeMar DeRozan
When everything is clicking offensively for DeRozan, the Raptors are in a very good spot. 27 points for the Compton native while also getting to the line, attempting twelve free throws was exactly what the Raptors needed out of him. DeRozan continues to make his case for an All-Star nod hoping to make his second appearance in the last three seasons.
