Siakam was the game’s top scorer with 26 points
Three tough games await them in the coming days (76ers, Spurs, Dallas and Boston)
The Raptors got out of the slump for the moment by achieving their second victory of the season by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks at their home in Toronto by 130-111 in a weak game of Giannis Antetokounmpo and in which locals Pascal Siakam and Dennis Schroder stood out.
Siakam was the game’s top scorer with 26 points while Schroder had a double-double with 24 points and 11 assists. His teammates Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl also finished with a double-double, the first with 21 points and 12 rebounds and the second with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
For the Bucks, the top scorer was Malik Beasley with 20 points. Antetokounmpo was content with 16 pointsone more than those obtained by Damian Lillard.
With a new coach, the Serbian Darko Rajakovic, and few changes in the lineup, the main novelty is the German point guard Dennis Schroder, The Raptors have had one of their worst starts to the season.
The Canadians came into Wednesday’s game last in the Eastern Conference table, with three defeats and only one victoryprecisely exactly a week ago in their first game of the season.
Pascal Siakam, the backbone of the Raptors, acknowledged on Tuesday that the team is going through a bad time in which everyone is trying to understand their role.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Everything is new and there are going to be difficult times. As long as we stay united right now, we can continue fighting and overcome it,” declared the Cameroonian.
Until now, The Raptors have had terrible shooting percentages (they rank 21st in the NBA in three-point shooting and 27th in field goals) and appear irregular in defense.
Up to their necks in water after just one week, and with three difficult games in the next few days (76ers, Spurs, Dallas and Boston), Siakam acknowledged that the Canadian team does not have much room for maneuver.
“We have to win these games. T“We have to go out and give everything to win,” Siakam said.
In front, the Bucks arrived third in the Eastwith two victories and one defeat.
The Milwaukee team has a new coach, Adrian Griffin, who until last year was an assistant coach for the Raptors when Nick Nurse was Toronto’s coach. Besides, The Antetokounmpo brothers’ team has been reinforced this year with point guard Damian Lillard.
The locals came out with the intention of quickly solving the deficiencies of their first games with Schroder effectively directing the attack. Siakam first, and then Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby scored triples that put the scoreboard at 9-4 after two baskets by Khris Middleton and Lillard.
Giannis Antetokounmpo did not come into playscored by Anunoby, and the Raptors increased their lead to 17 points, 26-9, with 3.28 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
At the end of the first 12 minutes, the Raptors were up 13 points31-18, with 42% accuracy from the three-point line, The Bucks did not make a single three-pointer and Antetokounmpo only made three points.
In the second quarter, The Raptors were up 27 points59-32, with 2.41 left before halftime: the Bucks’ attack was not working and although their three-point percentage improved and stood at 30%, field goals were a problem with another 30% success rate.
With Antetokounmpo denied at the rim, zero points in the second quarter, The Bucks went to the locker room down 66-44.
After the break, the visitors improved their shooting percentages, which allowed them to close the distance on the scoreboard.
Antetokounmpo, after a first half in which he only scored three points, scored 10 in the third quarter. And although Middleton and Lillard did not make baskets like in the first half, The contributions of Jae Crowder and Bob Portis allowed the Bucks to score 35 points to the Raptors’ 29 in the penultimate quarter.
The last 12 minutes began with a 95-79 score. The locals did not let up and increased their advantage due to the Bucks’ inability to stop Siakam and Barnes.
The Raptors went up by 25 points, 117-92, with 6 minutes left in the game. Without anything to do, Griffin retired his starters and the game ended 130-111, the Raptors’ second victory in five games.