The Toronto Raptors are in Milwaukee to take on the Bucks in Game 3 of their first round series. Meanwhile, the Bucks had their biggest home blowout in the BMO Harris Bradley Center, which suddenly is hosting one of the best crowds in the National Basketball Association.
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Every option the Raptors tried to exploit was met with a Bucks answer and eventually Milwaukee’s defence was so good, that the Raptors would be reduced to desperate heaves, little or no ball movement, players too stagnant and shell-shocked, frustrated and flustered.
After an off-performance in Game 1, Kyle Lowry bounced back in Game 2 to lead the Toronto Raptors to a series-tying 106-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Shaw’s three-run blast in the first made it 12 consecutive games going yard for the Brewers, who lead the majors with 32 home runs.
The Raptors responded in Game 2, and now it’s up to the Bucks to regain control of the series in Game 3 on Thursday night. “It was just fun, fun to play with such great fans”.
Game 4 is Saturday night.
Making this blowout even more impressive was that they barely needed Antetokounmpo.
Grizzlies’ guard Mike Conley had 24 points, centre Marc Gasol dropped 21 points and forward Zach Randolph was a force with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Tonight’s exciting Game 3 matchup pits the #3 seed Toronto Raptors against the #6 seed Milwaukee Bucks.
Lowry and Delon Wright finished with 13 points apiece for Toronto.
“Everybody has their own thinking about screens, about physicality”, Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd said.
DeRozan scored eight but was 0 of 8 from the field.
The Bucks just looked so much better.
Thursday night’s tip could have been played in Cleveland because it had that same feel, that same rotting stench that often emerges when there’s no fight, no response, no nothing.
Moments before tipoff, Raptors coach Dwane Casey had talked about the “hostile environment”.
“I think we definitely gained some things out of these two games”, Antetokounmpo said. The Spurs shot an NBA-best 87.7 percent at the free-throw line through the first two playoff games.
Lowry scored 12 points in the second but Milwaukee scored the final five points of the half to keep it close.
Frustrations boiled just before the half when Ibaka was called for goaltending a Malcolm Brogdon lay-up attempt.
For the Bucks, Antetokounmpo needs to be the best player on the floor. The crew of James Capers, Courtney Kirkland and Pat Fraher whistled the Spurs for only one foul in the second quarter – with 10.9 seconds left.
Giannis’ length on defense caused problems for the Raptors. (They managed just nine points versus Detroit in 2002).
Cleveland beat IN 117-111 IN Game 2 on Monday but failed to cover as a nine-point home favorite for the second straight time IN the series.
The Raptors had brief stretches of better defence in the third, but it still wasn’t almost enough and they went into the fourth quarter trailing 78-48. They had only six field goals at the time. The Bucks shot 52 percent from the floor overall and from 3-point range. Bad feeling. So we’d better pick it up.
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“We went from 18 to 11 dunks or layups for their team”, he said. [But] our confidence is not changed.
