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You know a team is starving for a victory and built around defense with scoring 92 points and still winning by 18 is called a blow out. Nevertheless, the Milwaukee Bucks 92-74 victory over the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night was the dominant win the Bucks have failed to capture over the past month.
By Jake McCormick
Other than rising star DeMar DeRozan (18 pts, 9-13 fg, 7 rbs), the Raptors have little to offer in the way of a dominant player. DeRozan had his mid-range game working (7-8 between 10-23 feet) against the Bucks Tuesday night, and Andrea Bargnani put up a rather inefficient 23 points on 21 shots.
But Toronto was never really able to score on (36% fg) or stop Milwaukee from scoring (46.3% fg) for more than a handful of possessions at a time. The Bucks combined a couple significant offensive and defensive runs that sealed the game early enough that some Milwaukee fans started heading for the exits with five minutes left to play.
“We had a ton of open looks, difference between second half and first half is we started to convert a little bit on the break,” coach Scott Skiles said. “The guys executed well again. They ran the offense well, they got good open looks, couldn’t complain about that at all.”
Top Milwaukee Bucks performers:
John Salmons (17 pts, 7-18 fg, 6 rbs) led the team in points in vintage 2009-10 fashion. Salmons scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half and attacked the basket from all angles with spin moves, up and unders, and fade away jumpers (4-7 on shots between 10 and 23 feet). He didn’t have season-high scoring numbers, but John Salmons looked more comfortable against the Raptors than he has in any game this season.
Toronto ranks fifth in the NBA in shots at the rim, but that has more to do with their athletic wings than true post men. Facing a slash-dominant, soft team, Andrew Bogut (15 pts, 6-8 fg, 5 rbs, 5 blks) was able to roam the paint in its entirety on offense and host a block party at the other end. Bogut was hitting hook shots from both sides of the hoop, and for the most part scored at will against Phoenix Suns Light.
Speaking of poor man’s versions of capable players/teams, Corey Maggette leads the Bucks in use percentage when he’s on the court mostly from misplaced confidence in his jump shot and a constant reliance on drawing fouls. However, Maggette continued his catch-and-shoot mid-range hot streak against Toronto (3-6 shooting from 16-23 feet) and came within a rebound of a triple-double.
In-game observations:
- The Bucks went on a 13-5 run halfway through the first quarter, thanks mostly to Brandon Jennings’ (2 steals) and Andrew Bogut’s (3 blocks) defensive prowess and ability to convert Raptors turnovers into points (eight and six points). Toronto also did an excellent job of living up to their reputation for playing lazy defense (18 of 24 Bucks first quarter points in the paint).
- As per usual, Milwaukee followed up a strong quarter with a clunker second, allowing Toronto to out-jump (and shoot) the less athletic Bucks. The most interesting part of the quarter was Corey Maggette’s usage in his 3:36 on the court. Maggette (6 pts, 5-10 fg, 6-6 ft, 9 rbs) either turned the ball over or scored on five of eight offensive possessions, which ultimately helped the Bucks expand a 30-28 lead to 36-33 in classic Maggette fashion (taking over a game, but not really taking it over).
- For the second game in a row, Bucks coach Scott Skiles went with an eight man rotation despite only having Drew Gooden and Michael Redd inactive because of injuries. Skiles said a big reason why was because players that had missed time (Carlos Delfino, Brandon Jennings) needed the extra minutes to get up to speed.
- In basketball, the team that can put together the best couple of runs throughout the course of the game is almost guaranteed to win, and Milwaukee closed out the game just how it started. After a first quarter 13-5 run, the Bucks strung together a much more impressive 14-0 run to stretch their lead over the Raptors to 20 in the fourth. Milwaukee clamped down hard defensively, contesting every shot while moving the ball effectively until someone came open along the perimeter.
As bad as Saturday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons was, the Raptors were still a team that the Bucks absolutely needed to beat at home. Milwaukee got the job done with tough defense, quality jumpers, and a healthy starting lineup that should only get better with every game.
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