Raptors Fall to the Bucks in OT Thriller

Aravind Lingam
Feb 26, 2018
6 min read

The Raptors coming into this game with a 7-game winning streak were looking to keep it rolling against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are in the midst of trying to move up in the standings where positions 3rd to 7th are separated by only 3 games. Milwaukee is currently sitting 6th in the conference and will be looking to move up with Cleveland struggling with their new players in the 3rd seed.

Toronto started the game off strong with their sharp offense and were playing tough defense. The Raptors tendencies on allowing offensive rebounding was a problem that the Raptors have yet to address. This problem was evident throughout the game. The Raptors did manage to take a 29-23 lead after the first 12 minutes. The Bench Mob came in and were surprisingly bad. They could not keep up with the Bucks in transition and were forced into bad shots by the Bucks’ physicality. The 6-point lead turned into an 8-point deficit in the blink of an eye. The Raptors looked sluggish and were allowing the Bucks to penetrate the heart of the defense way too easily. The Bucks would drive into the paint and force the bigs to help and this would lead to easy dunks and layups for the Bucks. The Bucks’ length and physicality prevented any easy drives and looks at the rim. The Raptors went down 65-57 at halftime.

Bledsoe and the Bucks were able to get past the Raptors' perimeter defense with very little resistance.

The second half the Raptors were no different. They made their runs but allowed the Bucks to score easily on offense and were getting manhandled on the glass all night. OG was benched for most of this game as Casey elected to go with Miles, VanVleet and Wright all sharing his minutes. Casey was trying to look for somebody that could provide defense on one side and be able to knock down a jumper or two when the ball swung. For all the retooling this offense did this year, the Raptors went back to their ISO basketball and it was scary to watch. It brought back painful memories of terrible possessions and losses in the playoffs of past. The ball movement was non-existent and there were too many forced shots.

The Raptors and Bucks traded punches in a third quarter that did not solve anything. The third quarter was an equal 31-31. Here comes the fourth quarter which did not look like anything was going to change. The Bench Mob came in and changed the game by playing defense and pace. Every bench player made it to the free throw line in this game as they were aggressive on offense in the fourth. Siakam and Poeltl were two lone bright spots for his team as they were juggernauts on both sides of the floor. The Raptors managed to take the lead late into the game and looked as if the Raptors were maybe able to steal this one.

Siakam was one of the lone bright spots as his energy and cuts to the rim provided much needed relief on both offense and defense.

A growing trend in this game was Giannis making tough baskets on isolation possessions and the Bucks’ shooters were surprisingly great. The Bucks shot 50% from the outside in this game as they went 13-26 from deep. The Bucks are ranked 26th in three-point percentage while the Toronto Raptors are at 21st. Khris Middleton split a pair of free throws but was able to give the Bucks a 2-point lead with 3.3 seconds left on the clock 110-108. The Raptors ran DeRozan and Lowry off as decoys as JV took the inbounds straight to the rim. JV gets fouled by John Henson as he manages to slam the ball in right at the buzzer. The referees swallowed their whistle and the game went into overtime with about 20,000 fans screaming for a foul. Casey and staff were livid about the non-call and felt like they were robbed. This was definitely something out of the blue from Casey’s offensive playbook, but it was great to see the belief in JV to put the ball in his hands in what could have been the final possession of the game.

Giannis was able to take advantage of the Toronto Raptors' switching and killed the Raptors with his length and passing. He finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists.

Off to overtime where the Toronto Raptors kept their momentum going as they took a 5-point lead to start the quarter. The Bucks were not rattled as they marched right on back with an 8-0 run. DeRozan finds JV in the paint for a dunk where JV gets mauled again by John Henson. As expected, there was another no call on the play. Giannis takes DeRozan 1-on-1 off a bad switch as Giannis was hitting his mid-range jumpers all game long, Bucks up 120-117. The Raptors draw up a play to get DeRozan a look to tie the game, but manages to get his own rebound. He elects to get the quick 2 which left about 1.5 seconds left on the clock as the Bucks hit free throws and ran the clock out.

Toronto Raptors Milwaukee Bucks

119 122

Player of the Game

Siakam was one of the few Raptors that was able to score inside against Milwaukee.

Pascal Siakam

17 points, 7 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers, 7-10 shooting, 0-1 3PT, 3-4 FT

Pascal's energy was outstanding and much needed as the Raptors relied on Siakam's spark off the bench to comeback in this game. Siakam played well and this was one of his better offensive nights. The no assists was a surprise but the guards were struggling with their shot due to the Bucks' length. Siakam was able to guard Giannis well in a few switches, but he was not strong enough to Giannis from getting to the rim. This was a valuable experience for the young kid and hopefully helps his development.

Things To Take Away From This Game:

1. Rookie Wall

OG has run into the rookie wall and does not look like he is going to get out of it anytime soon. The kid is shooting a dismal 19% from three-point land in the last 7 games and teams are starting to disregard him as any level of threat on offense. This is forcing Lowry and DeRozan to be double teamed and cutting off their driving lanes. OG needs to regain his confidence since he is a key cog for this team’s success due to his length and ability to guard the opposing team’s best players.

2. No Rebound, No Chance

The Raptors did not deserve to win this game no matter how hard of a comeback it was. The lack of focus on boxing out and keeping the defenders in front of them led to the demise of the team in this one. Toronto was not focused after a long All-Star break and the Bucks took advantage of the lackadaisical effort. The Raptors lost the rebounding battle 51-3 which felt a lot worse than the numbers show. No Raptor was in double-digits in rebounds and Serge needs to be more active on the glass to help out JV.

3. Perimeter Defense

This is a playoff match-up the Toronto Raptors could be matched up with when June rolls around. The Bucks were without both Matthew Dellavedova and Malcolm Brogdon who are their primary ball handlers for this Bucks team. With all the penetration by the Bucks without those two, the Raptors defense really needs to look at themselves and evaluate how bad of an effort they put forth tonight.

4. Pass First, Shoot Late?!

DeMar DeRozan did lead the late comeback in the fourth quarter to get the Raptors to send it to overtime, but Raptors fans around the world know that this kind of isolation offense is not going to work all the time. DeRozan did manage to score 33 points on 50% shooting, but his five turnovers and lack of passing as the games go on will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. The chart below shows DeMar DeRozan's lack of passing in the different quarters.