Raptors at Bucks
DeMar DeRozan remains at a 30-points-per-night level, but the Toronto Raptors are developing other scoring options and staying in the win column. The Raptors will try to find their way to back-to-back triumphs when they wrap up a five-game road trip by visiting the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Toronto gave itself a chance at a winning trip and avoided a three-game slide by placing six scorers in double figures in a 115-102 win at Houston on Wednesday, but remain unhappy about a downward trend on the defensive end. “At the end of the day, you still look down and they shot 49 percent," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "That’s something we've got to continue to talk about, we’ve got to continue to work on." The Bucks dropped five of their last seven games but are coming off a 93-89 win over Orlando that featured another strong performance from budding star Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 21-year-old recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, five steals and three blocks for his first triple-double of the season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One (Toronto), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (9-6): Toronto small forward DeMarre Carroll underwent knee surgery last season and is being monitored carefully in an effort to keep him fully healthy throughout this campaign. Carroll sat out the second night of a back-to-back on Monday and responded with a season-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting on Wednesday. The 30-year-old is known more for his defensive presence on the wing and recorded season bests of four steals and three blocks against the Rockets.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (6-7): Antetokounmpo was asked to play point guard after the All-Star break last season and is spending his time in 2016-17 moving from the point, to the wing and to the post in coach Jason Kidd's offense. "I've been telling him to do that for the whole season, man," reserve forward Michael Beasley told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of Antetokounmpo's triple-double. "He likes people to think he's still human." Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks in scoring (21.8), rebounding (8.5), steals (two) and blocks (2.2) while sitting second in assists (5.8) behind Matthew Dellavedova (six).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks F Mirza Teletovic is 3-of-13 from 3-point range over the last three games.
2.Raptors SF Terrence Ross is 13-of-23 from 3-point range in the last seven contests.
3. Toronto swept the four-game series last season by an average of 16.3 points.