Kyle Lowry scored 22 points, including the clinching basket with less than 10 seconds to play, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 106-100 on Tuesday night, evening their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 1-1.
Led by DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, who both shot over 50 percent from the field in Game 2, Toronto controlled the entire game and never looked overwhelmed, even despite a late rally by the Bucks in the fourth quarter.
The Congolese power forward, who sprained his ankle in Game 1, had doubts about playing.
DeRozan scored 12 points in the first and Antetokounmpo made just one of six field goal attempts in the opening quarter as Toronto led 28-25.
Behind another solid Giannis Antetokounmpo night - 24 points and 15 rebounds - Milwaukee refused to buckle when the Raptors extended leads to double-digits on a handful of occasions.
A big Raptors sequence to start the second jolted Toronto in a convincing direction.
For Milwaukee, that they continued to make Toronto uncomfortable even after the adjustment window portends good things and a long series.
Ex-England defender Ugo Ehiogu dies at 44
Football Association chairman Greg Clarke said: "We're devastated to hear the news that Ugo Ehiogu has passed away ". Harrison, who is on loan at Yeovil, wrote: "One of the most genuine, and caring people I've ever met".
That's why Houston is up 2-0 in this series after a 115-111 victory at home, as the series heads back to Oklahoma City for Game 3.
The Raptors called on two youngsters for some meaningful minutes this time. He had no little choice when Valanciunas got into some early foul trouble bringing in rookie Jakob Poeltl for a few short minutes. Delon Wright entered mid-way through the second to be a pest on Brogdon, chasing him around the floor and contributing to Toronto's solid passing. In Saturday's game, Middleton had 10 points with nine assists.
Antetokounmpo was plucking rebounds like insane, but he was missing shots at an unusual rate early on, from jumpers, to layups, and tips. Lowry had four rebounds and five assists. And while he's widely expected to re-sign with the Raptors, it's certainly possible that Lowry enters free agency with a reputation unbecoming of a superstar. The Bucks then held them to just three more points as the battled back, leaving the score at 52-55 after a last second tip-in from Hawes to end the half.
The Raps built that lead up to 13 points, but it never felt comfortable.
Khris Middleton went 6 for 14 and wound up with 20 points, while Greg Monroe came off the bench and scored 18 on 6 of 9 shooting. Worse, they worse forcing Toronto to turn the ball over.
Despite their much-improved play, Milwaukee refused to go away, trailing by one-point heading into the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo finished with seven assists.
The Toronto Raptors find themselves in a tough battle with the Milwaukee Bucks, down 0-1 to The Greek Freak and company. We had a chance to take the lead and the ball didn't go in. The over/under total for the game is listed at 193 points.
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