Middleton, Hawes pace Bucks over Raptors
MILWAUKEE -- Khris Middleton scored a season-high 24 points and Spencer Hawes added 16 as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Toronto Raptors 101-94 on Saturday night at the Bradley Center.
Middleton hit 9 of 14 shots in 30 minutes of action while being part of the staring lineup for a second consecutive night and just the third time this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points while Malcolm Brogdon added 17 for Milwaukee.
Hawes played his first significant minutes since joining the Bucks in a February 2 trade and his 16-point effort -- on 6-of-7 shooting -- was two off his season high.
The Bucks only shot 44 percent and went 6-for-27 from deep, but held Toronto's DeMar DeRozan to 11 points -- his second-lowest scoring effort of the season.
Serge Ibaka scored 19 and Cory Joseph had 14 to lead the Raptors, who made 7 of 21 3-pointers and hit 46.6 from the floor but gave up 20 points on 12 turnovers.
After hitting just four of its first 22 shots, Milwaukee raced out to a nine-point halftime lead on the back of Hawes, who hit all five of his shots including a pair of 3-pointers for 14 points in the second quarter.
The Bucks hit four from deep in the quarter, outscoring the Raptors 41-23, and went into the break up, 53-42.
Toronto made a surge to start the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to four on VanVleet's layup with 5:52 left but the Bucks recovered and pushed the lead back to 10 on a Snell 3-pointer with 58 seconds to play.
NOTES: Raptors PG Kyle Lowry missed his fifth consecutive game while recovering from wrist surgery. Toronto is 4-2 when Lowry is not in the lineup this season. ... C Spencer Hawes scored his first points since joining the Bucks in a Feb. 2 trade with Charlotte. Prior to Saturday, he'd appeared in just one game, playing a total of three minutes. ...Bucks SG Khris Middleton made his third start of the season and second in as many nights. Middleton missed the first 50 games of the season with a torn hamstring. ... Milwaukee snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Raptors, who had won the first three meetings in the season series and 13 of the last 14 overall.