Giannis Antetokounmpo could be the key to the Milwaukee Bucks' bid to reverse their recent history against the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the National Basketball Association playoffs. The Bucks' length was a significant issue at almost every position, and the Raptors looked overwhelmed in the face of feet of wingspan.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 24 points and 15 rebounds.
The probable starting lineup for Game 2 includes Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thon Maker, Tony Snell and Malcolm Brogdon. The Bucks then held them to just three more points as the battled back, leaving the score at 52-55 after a last second tip-in from Hawes to end the half. The Bucks beat the Raptors on March 4 to end a seven-game losing streak against Toronto.
In Milwaukee's locker room, no one was surprised that their superstar forward was able to lead them to a Game 1 upset on Saturday.
NEED TO KNOW: Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas is preparing to play Game 2 before flying out Tacoma, Washington to be with his family to finalize funeral arranges for his younger sister. In the previous three first round series, Toronto's had to deal with guarding the opposing team's superstar.
"It's big for us, but now we have to focus on game two", Antetokounmpo said.
The Clippers got 51 points from their two stars, another 10 from "kind of" star DeAndre Jordan and no one else hit double digits.
"He had some good looks, he just missed some shots", Casey said. Milwaukee was 19-22 in road games this season but they torched the Raptors in Game 1.
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A day after DeRozan compared the Raptors' notoriously slow starts to an old Buick Regal, Toronto played with greater intensity from the tipoff, sprinting out to an early five-point lead. "So, we hit a couple shots when they found us", Joseph said.
"We were taking negative steps going toward the basket instead of getting back", Casey said Sunday.
Not that the Raptors (and their fans) needed more reasons to feel nervous today, but here we are.
Leading 84-83 through three quarters, Toronto opened the fourth with an 11-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Ibaka, and a third from P.J. Tucker. Ibaka is not a player who sits out a game, particularly a playoff game with anything less than a serious injury and his sprained ankle suffered midway through the third quarter in was not serious enough to keep him out.
Game Two will be played Tuesday night at the Air Canada Center.
In the first round last season, Lowry shot 32 percent from the field and 16 percent on 3-pointers in Toronto's seven-game series victory against the Pacers. They also shot far better from three-point range in Game 2 - their 14 threes were a franchise playoff record. Toronto's defense needs to make the shots more hard for Antetokounmpo after he shot 72.2 percent from the floor. The Greg Monroe makes the free throw and scored 36 points which are equal to the points of Raptors.
Middleton's driving dunk with 1:17 to play closed out the scoring in the first quarter and gave Milwaukee a 30-22 lead.
The Athens-born Antetokounmpo, known as the Greek Freak, finished the half with eight points on 4-of-14 shooting.
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