Raptors

The Toronto Raptors nearly pulled off a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback but a dreadful shooting night was too much against the Milwaukee Bucks.

A dunk over Lopez sparked the turnaround as he began attacking again, using the space Milwaukee was giving him as a runway to get into the paint and finish. "It gets a little contagious," Nurse said of the misses. He had zero points through three quarters, confounded by Milwaukee's drop coverage with Lopez and unsure of how to attack the Bucks with so much space. Green for an open three-pointer when the Raptors doubled the Bucks star out of a pick-and-pop and later when he found Pat Connaughton when Anunoby rotated over to help VanVleet in defense. VanVleet did his best to keep the Raptors close. He nailed a tough pull-up three in transition just ahead of a trailing Antetokounmpo and tried to keep the Raptors going with his speed in transition. Despite a 2-for-23 first quarter and 13-for-50 shooting in the first half that included just two made three-pointers, the Raptors' defense wouldn't let Milwaukee get too far away. At one point, Toronto's confidence looked so shaken that Trent passed out of an open three-pointer, feeding Pascal Siakam before the Raptors eventually coughed up the ball on a miss-timed pass. “It’s at the top, for sure," VanVleet said of his weirdest all-time games. VanVleet's last-chance three, a tough step-back over Bobby Portis hit the front rim and fell out as the Raptors fell 104-101 Wednesday night. Up 21 points on the Toronto Raptors with less than four minutes to go. A hard drive to the rim by Antetokounmpo drew a crowd before a kick-out pass to Grayson Allen for three proved decisive.

TORONTO — In what coach Nick Nurse called one of the craziest games of his career, the Toronto Raptors almost pulled off the unlikeliest of victories.

The Raptors missed their first 15 shots of the game, prompting a smattering of boos before the game was even five minutes old. I do know what to say about the defence: the defence kept on plugging and plugging and plugging all the way." VanVleet's running layup that ended the drought with 4:36 left in the first quarter earned loud applause from the Scotiabank Arena crowd. Last season, they reeled off a five-game win streak after the new year that proved to be a season turning point. "It felt like it was a dart to Grayson," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I don’t really know what to say as far as the offence goes and not being able to put the ball in … Anunoby had 14, and Pascal Siakam had 11 for the Raptors, who've lost four of their last five games, and 10 of their last 13. had 22 points, including the three-pointer that sent the game to extra time. And 18 in the final 74 seconds of regulation. VanVleet's last-ditch three clanged off the rim. "We just fought and we guarded ‘em. They scored 12 points in the first quarter.

From couldn't hit a shot to couldn't miss one. It was a wild night for the Raptors who rallied from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit.

The Raptors would finish the quarter shooting just 8.9% and still were only down a point trailing 13-12 thanks to its defence. Lopez was held off the board completely through the first half. Antetokounmpo is on the kind of heater that flat-out scares opponents. For the half the team shooting percentage was a woeful 26%. Credit Toronto’s defence for keeping this one close. Milwaukee, though, still had both Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. And I think those shots are there. Allen’s five points alone were enough to overcome that. Article content I think we’re creating them. “And I think, I haven’t watched the tape yet, but I think there’s a lot of makeable shots out there.

Trailing by 16 points with 1:19 left in regulation time, Toronto pulled off an improbable comeback — only to have night end in a loss to Milwaukee.

[Pascal Siakam](https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/players/1070990/stats) had a streak of eight straight games with 25 or more points stopped as he only had 11 and [Scottie Barnes](https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/players/2078473/stats) missed his first six shots in his first 20 minutes on the court. Boucher had just five points and [Precious Achiuwa](https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/players/1830348/stats) only two. [combination of bench players](https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/opinion/2023/01/03/raptors-had-better-hope-the-minutes-dont-catch-up-to-their-starters.html) who can help consistently but until it’s successful, the Raptors are going to struggle. “Setting (screens) and handling (the ball) … “Don’t really know what to say, as far as the offence goes and not being able to put the ball in (the basket) and not look close a lot … “That was kind of early on in his career, that was his super unique strength and he went to it over and over,” Nurse said. and he’s certainly developed many more things. The Raptors, who have a hard time scoring when everyone’s playing well, missed their first 16 field-goal attempts, ended up 2-for-23 from the field in the quarter and had more steals (five) than baskets (two). When the game was played at any normal NBA level, the Milwaukee all-star simply took over. It at least made the game competitive, if not well-played. It was painful. It was funny.

TORONTO (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 10 assists and a season-high 21 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season, Grayson Allen hit a ...

Raptors: All of Barnes’ points came in the fourth quarter and overtime. Toronto missed its first 15 shots before VanVleet made a driving layup with 4:36 left in the first quarter. … Antetokounmpo had five turnovers in the first half. Milwaukee won for the third time in four games since losing a season-high four straight. The Raptors shot 2 for 23 in the first and Milwaukee went 5 for 24 as the teams combined for more turnovers (10) than made baskets. For him to find a way to get us over the top was huge.” G George Hill (non-COVID illness) sat for the fourth straight game. “It hit him right in the shooting pocket. The Bucks led 13-12 after one. “He was driving and falling down with three people on him,” Allen said. Antetokounmpo, who scored a career-high 55 points Tuesday night against Washington, came in having posted at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in each of his past three games. to hit a tying 3 with 0.8 seconds left.

TORONTO — Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple double of 30 points, a season-high 21 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 104-101 overtime ...

The Raptors missed their first 15 shots of the game, prompting a smattering of boos before the game was even five minutes old. VanVleet's running layup that ended the drought with 4:36 left in the first quarter earned loud applause from the Scotiabank Arena crowd. I do know what to say about the defence: the defence kept on plugging and plugging and plugging all the way." Last season, they reeled off a five-game win streak after the new year that proved to be a season turning point. "It felt like it was a dart to Grayson," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I don’t really know what to say as far as the offence goes and not being able to put the ball in … Anunoby had 14, and Pascal Siakam had 11 for the Raptors, who've lost four of their last five games, and 10 of their last 13. had 22 points, including the three-pointer that sent the game to extra time. And 18 in the final 74 seconds of regulation. VanVleet's last-ditch three clanged off the rim. "We just fought and we guarded ‘em. They scored 12 points in the first quarter.

New York Knicks (21-18, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Toronto Raptors (16-22, 12th in the Eastern Conference)

The Raptors won 113-106 in the last matchup on Dec. The teams meet for the second time this season. New York averages 114.2 points and has outscored opponents by 2.8 points per game. The Raptors are 11-15 in conference play. Jalen Brunson is averaging 17.2 points and 5.5 assists over the past 10 games for New York. Fred VanVleet is averaging 16.6 points and 5.2 assists over the past 10 games for Toronto. Knicks: 5-5, averaging 113.9 points, 45.8 rebounds, 22.7 assists, 5.3 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Julius Randle is scoring 24.2 points per game with 10.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Knicks. LAST 10 GAMES: Raptors: 3-7, averaging 110.5 points, 40.8 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 8.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. TOP PERFORMERS: Pascal Siakam is averaging 25.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists for the Raptors. Toronto ranks fifth in the league with 12.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Scottie Barnes averaging 2.1 offensive boards. Toronto Raptors (16-22, 12th in the Eastern Conference)

Toronto missed shots in any and every way imaginable in a 104-101 overtime loss to Milwaukee.

[Brook Lopez](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/brook-lopez-k7aWQKAexrC6eVg2/) backing into the paint to defend the rim. That decision forced [VanVleet into a worse shot](https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=209&GameID=0022200569&Season=2022-23&flag=1&title=MISS%20VanVleet%2027%27%203PT%20Pullup%20Jump%20Shot) that he had to take. [Precious Achiuwa](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/precious-achiuwa-s25YBLtNjSYZidSy/) cannot pass up on a wide-open 3-pointer, dribble to the free-throw line, see Lopez and play hot potato. • Oh, yeah, I didn’t even mention the Raptors going on a 20-4 run in the final two minutes to force overtime. [Milwaukee](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/bucks/), those guys Nurse was referring to — [Fred VanVleet](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/fred-vanvleet-DJq74red8aTFXbfg/), O.G. The two teams combined to hit seven field goals in the first quarter, one fewer than the number of turnovers the Bucks managed in the quarter. It isn’t there, especially since [Scottie Barnes](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/scottie-barnes-q6oHKUdJcW7PgLaq/) is having trouble figuring out where to fit in, depending on the game. But I think just finding a rhythm, you can find a little short roll floater, as you saw late, take up the space, get to the rim.” VanVleet, as the player who has the ball in his hands more than anybody but Siakam, has to balance trying to be the shooter this offence needs and facilitating for everyone else. That is the quagmire of the Raptors, a team that has responded well to coach Nick Nurse calling it out for its poor effort against A team capable of missing a historic, comical number of shots, while also able to play the type of hair-on-fire defence that can get them back into the same game in a matter of possessions. How can a team score 12 points in an entire quarter, and then 20 in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime?