The Toronto Raptors met up with the Milwaukee Bucks for their third meeting of the season and they did not disappoint at all. Led by DeMar DeRozan’s 22 points and 8 assists, the Raptors were able secure a 111-90 win over the Bucks going up 3-0 in their four game season series.
Toronto trailed by three entering the fourth quarter but quickly pounced on the Bucks with a 11-2 run early to put them up 87–81. From that point on it was smooth sailing for the Raptors as they maintained the lead out-scored the Bucks, 35-11 in the fourth. Luis Scola was huge, finishing with 17 and 11 rebounds and nailing three treys from beyond the arc for the first time in his career. The Raptors will travel to the windy city to take on the Chicago Bulls for their first meeting of the season on Monday night.
Offense: A
The Raptors did struggle to create opportunities in the third quarter but minus that, it was really fun to watch them on the offensive end. The ball movement was astonishing to observe, a season-high 31 assists for the Raptors with 17 coming from the back-court duo of Kyle Lowry and DeRozan. Once again the Raptors proved to be a dominant team when ball movement is a priority.
Defense: B+
The Raptors were able to hold the Bucks to just ELEVEN fourth quarter points and solely for that they deserve to be rewarded. The Bucks shooting was hard to contain for most of the night but the Raptors did a swell job in the fourth holding them to 4-17 from the field. Toronto was also able to limit Michael Carter-Williams tonight to just 8 points on 4-13 shooting on the night.
Rebounding: A
It was a solid night on the glass for the Raptors tonight as they held their ground against a poor rebounding team in the Bucks, winning the battle 44-38. Bismack Biyombo in the first half recording a 10 points and 11 rebounds in 14 minutes. He finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds while also hosting his own highlight reel with three blocks. Bismack is averaging a monstrous 15.6 rebounds in his last five games.
Game Ball: Terrence Ross
None other than Terrence Ross who continued his great scoring performance pouring in 18 points on 7-12 shooting and 4-7 from beyond the arc. Ross has scored over 10+ points for six straight games for the first time in his career. Ross is averaging 16.2 points on 51.8 percent from the field and 48.8 percent from deep in his last five games.
