The Toronto Raptors took the game two over the Milwaukee Bucks to tie the series. After a disaster on Saturday, the Raptors played much better basketball, which resulted in a 106-100 victory. Demar DeRozan led the Raptors with 23 points and seven rebounds while shooting 9 of 18 from the field and Kyle Lowry added 22 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Raptors.
A dynamic duo shot 50 percent from the field combined. Serge Ibaka was huge in the second half, blocking shots and hitting three-pointers. He finished the game with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks while shooting 4 of 7 from downtown.
Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds in just 22 minutes on the floor, while Cory Joseph added 11 points off the bench.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to dominate
The Milwaukee Bucks had some trouble defending a perimeter, as the Raptors hit 14 three pointers in 29 attempts. Mirza Teletovic was pretty useless in 12 minutes on the floor, as he went scoreless coming off the bench. Greg Monroe had another high-scoring game off the bench, as he dropped 18 points in just 21 minutes. But, the Bucks mostly depended on Giannis Antetokounmpo on both ends, defensive and offensive.
Giannis had 24 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals while shooting 9 of 24 from the field in 42 minutes.
He had some trouble with his outside shots, but all around, he was the best player for Milwaukee. Khris Middleton added 20 points and five rebounds for the visitors, while shooting perfectly 3 of 3 from outside and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. Tony Snell added 14 points with four three-pointers, while Malcolm Brogdon had only seven points in 37 minutes on the floor.
Impressions after the game
Giannis Antetokounmpo said that Kyle Lowry was the key for the Raptors: "We knew Lowry was going to be more aggressive and that he was going to get some shots. Tonight, he did a much better job of shooting the ball and assisting his teammates, too. We didn't win tonight, but we gained some things out of these two games.
We got their attention.”
Here is what Kyle Lowry said about his big shot at the end of the game: "The play was set for Derozan to take the shot. He is our guy. He had two guys defending him, and he trusted us. I just wanted to get to my spot. There were just five seconds left on the shot clock, and I wanted to get to my spot. Once I got there, I let it go.”
The next game is on the schedule for Saturday, at 3:00 pm, as the series, will move to Milwaukee.