NBA Basketball Box Scores

National Basketball Association

BOXSCORE | RECAP

Toronto 87, Milwaukee 76

When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 22, 2017
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Officials: #36 Brent Barnaky, #43 Dan Crawford, #10 Ron Garretson
Attendance: 18717

By The Sports Xchange

MILWAUKEE -- DeMar DeRozan was not going to be shut out again.

Held to eight free throws while missing all eight of his shots from the field two nights earlier, DeRozan proved that performance was merely an aberration Saturday afternoon.

DeRozan scored 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting to lead the Raptors to an 87-76 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, evening their best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at two victories apiece.

"I'm never too high, I'm never too low," DeRozan said. "I kept a level head. I knew lighting wasn't going to strike twice in the same place."

He hit 3 of 4 shots for six points in the opening quarter but blew up in the second, scoring 15 to give him 21 for the half. It made up for an otherwise sluggish start from the rest of Toronto's roster, which combined for 20 points on 7-of-28 shooting.

The Bucks didn't fare much better out of the gate. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his first five shots and Milwaukee made just 2 of 10 3-pointers but managed to go into halftime tied at 41.

It was neck-and-neck from there, but the Raptors pulled away late in the third quarter and never looked back in large part because they held Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton to five combined points on 1-of-12 shooting in the second half.

"We knew how bad we played in Game 3," said Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, who added 18 points. "We didn't want to come out and embarrass ourselves like that in Game 4."

Norman Powell, who moved into the starting lineup in place of Jonas Valanciunas, drained a corner 3 to put the Raptors up 59-53 with 4:40 left in the third quarter. A 3-pointer from Lowry gave Toronto a nine-point edge.

Middelton stopped Toronto's 9-0 run with a jumper to cut the deficit to six, but Lowry drilled a wide-open 3 to push the Raptors back up nine.

The Bucks caught a break in the closing seconds when Valanciunas was called for his fourth foul, sending him to the bench. Antetokounmpo picked up his fourth just 90 seconds into the fourth but stayed on the floor.

Milwaukee couldn't take advantage of the opportunity and went 5:32 without a field goal in the fourth quarter but still managed to stay within six. Antetokounmpo hit one of two from the line to make it a five-point affair, but the Bucks turned it over on their next two possessions and Powell sank two from the line with 4:30 left, putting the Raptors back up seven.

Powell followed that with a corner 3 to make it 79-69 with four minutes left, giving Toronto its biggest lead of the night.

"I always said we play better with our backs against the wall," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "It's a tough way to live, but I love our team's resilient personality. If we can consistently get everybody at their potential level, I think we'll be in good shape moving forward."

Tony Snell led Milwaukee with 19 points. He hit five 3-pointers, but the rest of the team went 0 of 11 from distance. Antetokounmpo and Monroe finished with 14 points each for the Bucks, who shot 37 percent and turned the ball over 20 times with Antetokounmpo accounting for seven.

"When you turn the ball over 20 times, it's hard to have a pace," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "We have to do a better job with the ball."

Kyle Lowry added 18 points for Toronto, which also got 12 each from Powell and Valanciunas and 10 from center Serge Ibaka, who added eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

"It was old-school," Eastern Conference basketball," Lowry said. "It was kind of ugly, but it worked."

NOTES: Raptors coach Dwane Casey suggested there would be changes after his team lost Game 3 by 27 points and he kept true to his word, inserting F Norm Powell into the starting lineup while moving Jonas Valanciunas to the bench and shifting Serge Ibaka to center. ... Before Saturday, Milwaukee had won 21 straight games when holding its opponent to fewer than 100 points. ... DeMar DeRozan's 33-point effort marked his third career playoff game with 30 points or more. ... The series continues Monday night in Toronto with Game 6 set for Thursday back in Milwaukee.

Top Game Performances

Toronto		Milwaukee
DeMar DeRozan 33	Scoring	Tony Snell 19
DeMar DeRozan 5	Assists	Giannis Antetokounmpo 4
DeMar DeRozan 9	Rebounds	Khris Middleton 11
DeMar DeRozan 9	Free Throws Made	Greg Monroe 6
DeMar DeRozan 4	Steals	Giannis Antetokounmpo 2
Serge Ibaka 3	Blocks	Giannis Antetokounmpo 2

Team Stats Summary

Team	Points	FG%	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA	Assists	Rebounds	Blocks	Steals	Turnovers
Toronto	87	41.2	5-22	16-17	16	41	6	11	13
Milwaukee	76	37.0	5-21	11-18	16	50	3	8	21

Upcoming Games

Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Bucks have a W/L % of .512 after a win and .513 after a loss.

Toronto will play their next game at home against Milwaukee. The Raptors have a W/L % of .620 after a win and .625 after a loss.