Bucks 127, Raptors 131 (OT) | Recap
In their opening game of 2018, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Toronto Raptors, 131-127 in overtime. The Bucks’ defeat at the packed Air Canada Centre came after they had won two tough matchups against Western Conference teams, providing an opportunity to gain ground in the Eastern Conference. Despite several chances to extend their winning streak to three, Milwaukee was unable to get over the hump, ultimately losing a winnable game against a potential playoff rival. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, though he was mostly quiet in the first half. He did score a buzzer-beating dunk, but it was uncontroversial since it came at the end of the first quarter and was far from the baseline. In the second half, Giannis returned to form, even though the Bucks didn’t make any noticeable adjustments to free him up. Every now and then, though, Giannis doesn’t require much space to make an impact:
For Toronto, DeMar DeRozan was on fire, setting a career-high and a franchise record with 52 points (17-of-29 shooting, 5-of-9 from deep, and a perfect 13-of-13 from the free-throw line), along with 8 assists. DeRozan’s stellar performance included an incredibly efficient 21 points on just 9 shots in the first quarter, and he maintained that level of play throughout. Kyle Lowry added 26 points (on 13 shots), 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. While no other Raptors scored in double digits during regulation, Fred VanVleet played a crucial role in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Stat That Stood Out
The differential in three point shots attempted between Toronto (14/33, 42.4%) and Milwaukee (13/27, 48.1%), in favor of the Raptors. Historically, neither team is renowned for their outside shooting, but the Raptors have at least tried to change that this year. Much and more has been made of Toronto’s offseason transformation, where they sought to forsake midrange jumpers in favor of corner threes. Star guards like DeRozan and Lowry will still take those shots, but the Raps seemed far more concerned with consistently working the ball around into good shots than the Bucks.