Giannis Antetokounmpo's 19 Points Pace Bucks Past Kawhi Leonard, Raptors
The Milwaukee Bucks strengthened their hold on the top seed in the Eastern Conference following a 105-92 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
With the victory, the Bucks are now 1.5 games ahead of the second-place Raptors.
MVP contender Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Milwaukee, while Khris Middleton chipped in with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
This is only the fifth home defeat for Toronto in 26 games. Kawhi Leonard's 16 points and eight rebounds weren't enough for the Raptors to come out on the winning end. Pascal Siakam had a game-high 28 points.
Eric Bledsoe Holds Key to Deep Postseason Run for Milwaukee
Nothing symbolized Milwaukee's first-round playoff exit better than Eric Bledsoe trying to trash-talk Terry Rozier as Rozier was torching him in the series. Bledsoe was a liability against the Boston Celtics, and the Bucks were a much worse team as a result.
The 29-year-old appears to have taken it upon himself to atone for that this year. He entered Thursday averaging 15.8 points and 5.5 assists, but his biggest impact has come on defense. He ranks 93rd in defensive real plus-minus (1.18) compared to 248th (0.06) in 2017-18, per ESPN.com.
Bledsoe's defensive instincts were on display against the Raptors. Kyle Lowry shot 4-of-11 from the field, and Bledsoe finished with four steals.
Last season showed Antetokounmpo can only do so much on his own for Milwaukee in the playoffs. Unless you're LeBron James, a one-man show isn't a recipe for success in a seven-game series.
Bledsoe, in particular, will need to step up because the Bucks are bound to face at least one dynamic point guard en route to a potential Finals appearance whether it's Lowry, Kyrie Irving or Ben Simmons. Even D'Angelo Russell might be a difficult matchup with the way the Brooklyn Nets guard is playing.
Assuming this version of Bledsoe carries over into April and May, Milwaukee could be looking at its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2001.
Inconsistent Three-Point Shooting Will Doom Toronto in Playoffs
The Raptors shot 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from beyond the arc in Thursday's loss. Unfortunately for Toronto, that performance wasn't far from the norm.
According to The Athletic's Eric Koreen, Danny Green was battling a stomach virus that limited him to 13 minutes of action, which didn't help matters. Green's 2.4 made three-pointers per game are first on the team.
His presence likely would not have made a huge difference, though. The Raptors were shooting 34.8 percent on three-pointers (18th) and making 11.6 per game (10th).
That's going to happen when Leonard and Lowry are two of your best players. Leonard is a good long-range threat but not a high-volume sharpshooter, while Lowry is shooting 31.9 percent from deep.
Even with the questions about their three-point prowess, anything short of a conference finals appearance will be a disappointment for Toronto.
The Raptors rank seventh in offensive rating (112.0), so their approach has proven successful. But a team's greatest flaws are often exposed in the playoffs, when opposing coaches can dedicate more time to devising a specific strategy.
The Raptors better hope they don't meet the Bucks there, however, because Milwaukee's ability to space the floor could be the decisive factor. Were it to advance all the way to the NBA Finals, Toronto would then stand little chance of upsetting the Golden State Warriors.
What's Next?
The Bucks move on to the fourth leg of their five-game road trip and face off with the Washington Wizards on Saturday. The Raptors host the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday before embarking on a three-game road trip of their own.
