The Toronto Raptors held off the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon to even their first round series 2-2 following their 87-76 victory.
The win featured Dwane Casey’s biggest adjustment of the series— inserting Norm Powell into the starting lineup and moving Jonas Valanciunas to the bench— and a bounce-back from DeMar DeRozan, who scored a game-high 33 points, impressive given how low-scoring the game is. The Milwaukee (and U.S. national) media were quick to give the Raptors credit for tying the series, but don’t seem altogether worried about Milwaukee’s odds in tonight’s Game 5 and beyond.
Here’s what the Milwaukee papers and blogs are saying about the Raptors-Bucks series after Game 2:
BrewHoop— Bucks Unable to Complete Game 4 Comeback
Welp. Even with all of the energy and jubilation that was at the Bradley Center and around the city of Milwaukee leading up to today’s game, the Raptors were able to prevail. They persevered and defeated the Bucks by a score of 87-76.
The largest reason? DeMar DeRozan. Bucks fans were reminded of his All-Star status, as he lit up the box score with a game high 33 points and proved to be much more than Milwaukee could handle. For Milwaukee, Tony Snell notched a playoff career-high with 19 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo, besides a brief stint of positivity to end the first half, remained stymied with just 14 points on 4-19 shooting to go with nine boards, four assists, two steals, two blocks and (gulp) seven turnovers. Middleton wasn’t much better going 4-13 and looking generally ineffective on both ends of the court.
Immediately at the forefront of the game, it was apparent what the Raptors gameplan was: to seal off all inside access. And it worked too — Milwaukee was forced to settle for jump shots, and looked uncomfortable doing so.
Journal Sentinal— Notes: Antetokounmpo in a serious mood
Brogdon had a tough performance in Game 4 but said he just hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm and that’s why he hasn’t been consistent on offense.
“The ball hasn’t been moving much so the team overall has struggled. We’ve got to pass the ball, we’ve got to move the ball so people get into some rhythm,” he said.
He also had four turnovers against a tough defense.
“Toronto is a team that reaches a lot,” said Brogdon. “They’re one of the leading teams in steals in the league so the refs let them play like that. We know that. That can’t be one of our excuses.”
Ball Don’t Lie— DeMar DeRozan and defense save the Raptors again
Surprise starter Powell gave the Raptors a big boost, coming through with a big game after having slipped down Casey’s rotation late in the season. The second-year man out of UCLA — originally a second-round pick of the Bucks, who shipped him and a 2017 first-round pick to the Raptors for point guard Greivis Vasquez on the night of the 2015 NBA draft — scored 12 points on seven shots, making all three of his 3-point attempts, including a dagger from the left corner off a DeRozan drive-and-kick to put Toronto up 10 with four minutes remaining in the fourth.
The Raptors haven’t exactly earned a lot of confidence in this series, getting run out of their gym in Game 1 and absolutely dismantled in Game 3 in Milwaukee. But after salvaging a split in Wisconsin, they once again have home-court advantage, and will head back to Toronto for Monday’s Game 5 with a chance to draw within one win of Round 2.
Journal Sentinel—Bucks’ turn to clean up mess
More important than appealing to his team’s pride, however, were the adjustments Raptors coach Dwane Casey made. He tweaked his starting lineup, replacing slow-footed Jonas Valanciunas with smaller and quicker Norman Powell and moving Serge Ibaka to center. He also schemed to get guards DeMar DeRozan and Lowry out of traps and into better looks.
Maybe you missed it, but the first play of the game was a tone-setter.
Thirteen seconds had elapsed when Powell hip-checked Bucks rookie Thon Maker on an alley-oop attempt, sending Maker flailing out of bounds and drawing a foul. It sent the message that the Raptors weren’t going to be bullied again.
Then there was goal-line defense Toronto played against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Every time he touched the ball in the paint the Raptors all but gang-tackled him. His play, measured and efficient earlier in the series, hinted of frustration. He missed his first five shots, went 0 for 7 in the second half and had seven of the Bucks’ 20 turnovers.
Finally, DeRozan and Lowry, who made a combined 4 of 18 shots in Game 3, went off for 33 and 18 points, respectively.
“I knew lightning don’t strike twice in the same spot,” DeRozan said.
On TNT’s Inside the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal, who had been highly critical of Kyle Lowry‘s ability to lead a team in the playoffs, again harped that the Raptors only real chance lay in the hands of the all-star backcourt:
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, an algorithm calculating the chances each team has to advance, is high on the Raptors, giving Toronto a 75 per cent chance to advance to the second round following Game 4’s victory.
Lastly, a growing narrative in the immediate moments following Game 4 was that the Bucks— at least their fans— are extremely confident in their team, despite the loss:
Game 5 is tonight at 7 pm ET.