Bizarre, wild recreation ends with standard end result for slumping Raptors

The Toronto Raptors wanted to make the most of the beginning of a season-long, six-game homestand within the worst means.

As a substitute, they kicked it off by taking part in basketball within the worst means doable — for very lengthy stretches offensively no less than. The Raptors began out miserably, briefly confirmed indicators of life after which seemingly have been about to get shoved off the ground within the fourth quarter by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Er, grasp on a second.

All of the unhealthy stuff occurred — the Raptors misplaced 104-101 in extra time, and we’ll get to that — however Toronto did end regulation with an inconceivable 28-7 run within the closing 4 minutes that worn out a 21-point Bucks lead in a blink of an eye fixed, seemingly.

The followers in Scotiabank Enviornment who hadn’t left already went predictably nuts. It was essentially the most enjoyable stretch of basketball seen round right here this season — simply.

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It was capped by a Gary Trent Jr. triple with 0.8 seconds on the clock — his second bomb within the closing 30 seconds —  to ship the sport into extra time after Toronto had trailed Milwaukee by 11 factors with 43 seconds to play. Scottie Barnes offered two hoops of his personal within the frantic end to regulation.

However then got here the extra time interval. After matching the Bucks bucket for bucket, Toronto collapsed on a driving Giannis Antetokounmpo solely to have the Bucks star whistle a move via visitors to a wide-open Grayson Allen to nail the wide-open game-winning triple with 10.8 seconds left. It was Antetokounmpo’s 10^th help and completed off triple-double that included 30 factors and 21 rebounds.

Fred VanVleet had an opportunity to ship the sport right into a second extra time within the closing seconds however his three was huge and the euphoria was changed by the conclusion that the Raptors had dropped one other recreation they in all probability wanted to have.

VanVleet completed with 28 factors and 12 assists (on 8-of-23 taking pictures and 4-of-14 from three) whereas Trent Jr. added 22 factors and Barnes scored all 19 of his factors within the fourth quarter and extra time, however it was – even with the wild finish – not sufficient.

Now, shedding to the Bucks, a perennial championship contender led by two-time MVP  Antetokounmpo is hardly the worst factor that may occur to a workforce, even on your house ground.

However the best way the Raptors misplaced — with their season-long offensive woes laid naked within the first 44 minutes for all to see and to a Bucks workforce taking part in for the second time in two nights and lacking two starters and two rotation gamers – is difficult to swallow for a workforce that is aware of the clock is ticking if they’ll change the trajectory of their season earlier than it’s too late.

The loss — the Raptors’ second straight and eighth in 9 video games — dropped Toronto to 16-22 for the season whereas the Bucks improved to 25-13.

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In distinction to the hot-shooting end, Toronto missed its first 15 photographs and didn’t rating a discipline aim till 7:24 had been performed within the first quarter. Even with their late surge, the Raptors shot 32.8 per cent from the ground and 9-of-46 from deep. They pressured the Bucks into 28 turnovers and nonetheless misplaced, which is actually onerous to do, however the Raptors have virtually accomplished it twice now within the area of every week, having barely scraped previous the Phoenix Suns after forcing 27 turnovers.

However the Raptors offence within the half-court is so suspect that even taking an astounding 28 extra photographs that the Bucks – who shot solely 39.8 per cent from the ground and 33.3 per cent from three – wasn’t sufficient.

Now, the Bucks are a wonderful defensive workforce with a reasonably merely system. They depend on Brook Lopez to protect the paint whereas the rangy Antetokounmpo makes use of his pace and dimension to trigger havoc elsewhere. Everybody else chips in and does their half, utilizing their dimension and athleticism.

Take into account this second halfway via the second first quarter: Siakam pump fakes Antetokounmpo from the three-point line and will get the Bucks star to chew. Siakam places the ball on the ground and will get to the paint, however sees Lopez ready there, affected person as a mountain vary. Siakam tries to ball faux the broad-shouldered seven-footer, who doesn’t chew, earlier than dumping it off to Barnes, who can’t deal with the move and fumbles it out of bounds.

Early within the second quarter, O.G. Anunoby turned the nook on Antetokounmpo however once more started hesitating as Lopez shuffled again to the rim, matching the Raptors ahead’s pace. When Anuonby lastly received into his lay-up, Antetokounmpo had adopted him down the lane and swatted away the shot from behind.

Some model of these performs occurred time and again as Toronto both tried to drive the lane and received stymied or didn’t even trouble attempting and missed contested twos and threes on the perimeter, because the Bucks pressed up, assured that Lopez would shield them in the event that they received beat.

It received to the purpose the place Raptors head coach Nick Nurse  modified his rotation to try to maintain Barnes away from Lopez because the Bucks centre was barely guarding the Raptors ahead, who in flip couldn’t or wouldn’t shoot sufficient to attract Lopez away from the basket. Finally, Nurse went with the extra shot-happy Chris Boucher to maintain Lopez occupied.

When gamers are making groups alter their rotations on the fly, you recognize they’re having a defensive affect, and it’s only one cause the 14-year veteran is a favorite to be named defensive participant of the yr.

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“It’s his basketball IQ, his instincts and really feel and there’s that little second if you contest (the ball-handler), do you faux and fade (again to the rim), simply various things,” mentioned Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer who has leaned on Lopez as his defensive anchor for 5 seasons now, a stretch during which Milwaukee routinely has sat at or close to the highest of the NBA’s workforce defence rankings (they’re fourth this season) — the exception being final yr when Lopez was out many of the season after again surgical procedure and Milwaukee was 14^th.

“We will discuss it, however there’s no one that does it like Brook. We might get him to return out right here and educate a category on it, however he’d in all probability get annoyed with us as a result of there’s some issues which can be simply pure and inherent.”

There’s that.

And in addition that there is no such thing as a defensive bundle extra assured to emphasise Toronto’s jump-shooting ineptitude within the half-court than a large, good rim protector and a squad of rangy energetic defenders flying across the perimeter. The Raptors began off lacking their first 15 photographs, solely one in every of which was truly on the rim. Tentative threes and contested twos bounced off the rim harmlessly. It was ugly.

When Siakam scored the Raptors’ first level on a made free throw with 5:12 remaining within the opening quarter, the sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Enviornment cheered like they’d received the lottery, or a free slice of pizza. After all, Siakam missed the second free throw. Toronto lastly broke via when Lopez and Antetokounmpo went to the bench. First VanVleet after which Siakam scored lay-ups in transition.

However that was it. Toronto missed its subsequent six photographs and completed the quarter having not scored a single half-court basket.

The one excellent news is that the Bucks have been virtually as unhealthy, taking pictures 5-of-24 for the interval and making eight turnovers, which how your lead is simply 13-12 if you’ve held your opponent to eight.7 per-cent taking pictures.

On the opposite finish, the Raptors could have caught a break on condition that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks performed in Washington on Tuesday evening and have been in Toronto on the second evening of a back-to-back. The Bucks star set a profession excessive with 55 factors in a win in opposition to the Wizards, capping a seven-game stretch the place he’s topped the 40-point mark 5 occasions, together with the earlier three. Possibly he was lagging just a bit.

The Raptors had plans for him — to over-simplify, the intent was to construct a ‘wall’ off defenders between Antetokounmpo and the rim, each within the half-court and particularly in transition. It’s the identical technique most groups use — and one the Raptors popularized with their (relative) success in opposition to Antetokounmpo in the course of the Jap Convention Finals in 2019 – however in his 10^th season the Bucks star’s recreation continues to develop.

“His recreation has simply developed, definitely it has,” mentioned Nurse earlier than the sport. “That was sort of early on in his profession (going to the rim), that was his tremendous distinctive energy, and he went to it time and again after which, as all these guys do, they see various things … and he’s definitely developed many extra issues.”

However greater than something, Antetokounmpo simply retains attacking, drawing a lot consideration that his teammates profit. The Bucks began the second quarter on a 14-3 run due to a trio of wide-open triples from the Bucks supporting solid as Antetokounmpo was held to only eight factors in opposition to 5 turnovers within the first 24 minutes.

Trailing by 11, the lid lastly got here off the basket for the Raptors, who missed their first seven photographs of the second quarter to start out the sport at a ghastly 2-of-29. Threes by VanVleet after which Trent Jr. — Toronto’s solely two makes from distance in 17 makes an attempt — fueled a 16-5 run that allowed Toronto to be within the recreation. Towards all odds, the Raptors trailed solely 39-38 on the half.

It appeared like the sport couldn’t get any stranger at that time. Seems it was simply getting began.

Extra from Sportsnet

NBA execs watching closely as struggling Raptors begin crucial homestand

10 things: Raptors bench badly outplayed, while VanVleet fades in fourth

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