Bucks at Raptors
The Milwaukee Bucks delivered a series-opening salvo and take a swing at a second straight road breakthrough when they visit the Toronto Raptors in Tuesday's Eastern Conference first-round matchup. The Bucks didn't look like a team that lost 13 of their past 15 regular-season games to the Raptors when it carried play and produced a 97-83 victory in the opener.
The Game 1 defeat pushes the third-seeded Raptors in recognizable territory as they have dropped eight consecutive playoff series openers. "If I had the answer, maybe we would have pulled it out," All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters of the Game 1 woes. "It's something now that we're not unfamiliar with, being at this point. It's never ideal." Sixth-seeded Milwaukee held Toronto to 32 second-half points while riding the coattails of All-Star small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo's 28-point effort. "It's big for us, but now we have to focus on Game 2," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "We know they're going to be more desperate."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE BUCKS: The series is seen as a time for the 22-year Antetokounmpo to shine and he did that by making 13-of-18 shots, collecting eight rebounds and playing his typical team-style brand of basketball. "I'm going to find open guys," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "If I start thinking about who they're going to put on me, it's not going to work. I don't even think about who they're going to put on me." Rookie guard Malcolm Brogdon contributed 16 points and made four 3-point baskets in Game 1 while center Greg Monroe contributed 14 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS: All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry missed all six 3-point attempts and tallied just four points in the opener as he continues to be a dismal performer in the postseason. Lowry experienced major shooting issues last year while finishing at 30.4 percent from long range in 20 games and he was already surly with reporters while claiming it is time for some of his teammates to step up. "That's one thing about the playoffs, teams are gonna game plan for me and DeMar," Lowry told reporters. "We gotta figure out ways to make tough shots or everybody else gotta help us. We gotta get other guys to get even more open looks."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. DeRozan scored 27 points in the opener but was just 7-of-21 from the field to drop his career postseason shooting percentage to 39.1 in 32 postseason contests.
2. Milwaukee SG Khris Middleton was 4-of-15 shooting in Game 1 and is shooting just 36.4 percent in seven career playoff games.
3. PF Serge Ibaka, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds, was the only starter to make a 3-pointer in the opener as Toronto was 5-of-23 from long range.