Win Slips Away vs. Raptors

After returning home from a spirited trip across the Atlantic, Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks had another excellent opportunity laying at their feet, as they played host to one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams, the Toronto Raptors (27-14).

The Bucks had the Raptors right where they wanted them late in the game, but they let that chance at an upset slip away in the final second, falling 92-89 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

“It’s a loss,” Jason said. “We wanted to protect home, and we had a great opportunity to do that. We let one get away from us in the sense that we had a chance to tie it without playing our best. They’re one of the top teams in the East.”

Point guard Brandon Knight had a shot at the game-tying three in the final 10 seconds, but it fell off its mark. After Toronto star Kyle Lowry missed both free throws on the next possession, Milwaukee was granted another life.

However, as O.J. Mayo drove down the court with the seconds ticking away, he was swarmed by Raptors, forcing him to lose the ball as the buzzer sounded.

Afterward, Jason’s squad looked back, not at just those late missed opportunities, but some mistakes throughout the game. The Raptors amassed 20 offensive rebounds, creating 14 more shot attempts than the Bucks. Toronto’s 21 second-chance points more than made the difference in the game, as Knight pointed out.

“It’s a totally different game if we don’t give those offensive rebounds up,” Knight said. “It was just a matter of, I would say, just wanting it more. Pounding the boards and having effort, and they did that tonight.”

Ersan Ilyasova tried to battle in the trenches with the big men of Toronto, but was only able to grab seven rebounds, which led the team. In only his second game back from being out since late-December he scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and the Bucks were outrebounded 54-43.

The Bucks won the first quarter when Knight, Khris Middleton, Zaza Pachulia and Johnny O’Bryant combined for 23 points, helping the squad out to a 25-22 lead.

Knight led the way for Milwaukee with 20 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals, while Mayo turned in 13 off the bench.

In the second, however, the Toronto reserves took over, combining for 20 points, while the entire Bucks squad scored just 19. Terrance Ross led the way with eight points, including two trifectas, and the Raptors shot 50 percent to take a 53-44 lead into the break.

Milwaukee heated up in the third quarter, where it shot 57.1 percent. However, turnovers were a thorn in the team’s side as it often has been this season. The Bucks gave the ball away seven times, and they chipped just three points off the deficit before the final frame.

Coach Kidd tried to fire his team up amid that sloppy third, and he was issued a technical foul from the officials at the end of the third with his team down 68-62.

Jason’s tech seemed to do just the trick, as Ilyasova scored six points in a 9-3 run for the Bucks to open the last frame and knot the game at 71.

The teams went back and forth in the fourth, trading the lead four times. O.J. Mayo scored 13 points off the bench, including a 3-pointer to put his team ahead by one, 76-75, halfway through that last quarter.

After Milwaukee took the lead, Lowry went into action for Toronto, scoring seven of his 18 points to give the Raptors a small cushion. With seven seconds left, Knight slipped around a screen set by Ilyasova and had a wide-open look from the left wing, but he was off his mark.

“(Knight’s miss) was a wide-open shot,” Coach Kidd said. “That’s all you can ask for. As a team, we had a great look and had one of our best shooters shooting the ball. Unfortunately it just didn’t go in.”

After the miss, Lowry had two chances to put the game away. When he couldn’t, Ilyasova pulled down the board and sent it out to Mayo, who ran the floor on a fast break. He took some contact just after crossing half court, but no foul was called, and the buzzer sounded as the Raptors stole possession and the win.