What a series it has been so far between the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks. With the series tied at two wins apiece, these two teams met on Monday night in Toronto for their Game 5 of this first-round playoff matchup. We've seen many turnarounds, exciting moves and chess moves so far in this series and Monday's Game 5 was no different.
Air Canada Center in Toronto was fully packed with 20,000 Raptors fans making one of the best atmospheres in the NBA. Kyle Lowry started for Toronto despite not being able to participate in shootaround because of a stiff back.
For the Bucks, Khris Middleton was in the starting lineup despite suffering from an illness.
Wire to wire victory for the home team
Toronto started off the game with a 31-point first quarter as they played great defense allowing the Bucks to shoot just 40% in that period. Offensively, the Raptors shot 50 percent and won the first quarter 31-20.
The Raptors pressured Milwaukee into five turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game. Midway through the second quarter, Toronto held a 19-point lead at 51-32 and at halftime the score was 57-48 for Dwane Casey's squad.
Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 16 points in the first half, while Kyle Lowry finished the half with 12 points for Toronto. The Raptors won the third quarter 33-25 as they were up 17 points (90-73) coming into the final period of the game.
They never looked back and ended up
They never looked back and ended up winning this Game 5 by a 25-point margin 118-93. Toronto had a big rebounding advantage in this one (40-23) and they shot 57.7% from the field. The Raptors finished with 28 assists, one shy of their season-high.
Norman Powell with a career night
Putting Norman Powell in the starting lineup has changed the playoff fortunes of the Toronto Raptors.
He responded with a career playoff-high in Game 5 as he finished the game with 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists. He was 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the three-point line. The Raptors were a +23 when Powell was on the floor. Serge Ibaka added 19 points and six rebounds while DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points.
Kyle Lowry finished with a double-double (16 points and 10 assists).
Only three players finished in double-digit scoring for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5. Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 30 points. Antetokounmpo added nine rebounds and three assists. Malcolm Brogdon contributed with 19 points and three assists, while Greg Monroe finished with 11 points off the bench.
Toronto now holds a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 to be played at Milwaukee on Thursday night. The winner of this series will face the defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.