Milwaukee Bucks at Toronto Raptors

On the court, he’s not afraid to show his emotion, flexing after an and-one layup in the first quarter, staring down the Bucks bench and playing to the home crowd after one of his threes.

By our rough estimate Dwane Casey has referenced on at least eight or nine occasions already this series how small the gap is, not just between Toronto and Milwaukee but from 1-through 8 in the Eastern Conference, in a measure of ability to win basketball games. “He’s done a good job of running out. That does change the game”.

Mike Leake allowed two runs over six innings and drove in two runs to lead St. Louis to a 6-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, the Cardinals’ sixth win in seven games. The Raptors romped in a pivotal fifth game as the 6-foot-4 Powell started for the second straight game and scored 25 points. His offense has suffered a little bit as a result, but the Raptors have other guys who have stepped up and can score.

Despite missing the morning shootaround with a stiff back, point guard Kyle Lowry was in the Raptors’ starting lineup for Game 5 of their opening-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.

A second-round pick (46th overall) in 2015, Powell is averaging 18.5 points per game on 61.5 shooting from the field since seeing an uptick in usage.

“We understand what Game 5 means, a swing game”, Kidd said. “Thon Maker can make threes”.

Like Carroll, DeRozan credited the film session with helping the team right the ship, going so far as likening the Raptors’ dynamic to that of a romantic relationship.

“I felt like the best way for us collectively …”

“Win or lose, we are here with you”.

The Raptors were not lighting it up from deep, either, on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Golden State’s 45 points tied the record for most in a postseason first quarter and they went on to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-103 to sweep their series 4-0.

The Raptors guard appreciates the sentiment, but prefers not to read the stories. Lowry did not participate in shoot-around. “We’ve just got to treat this next game like it’s Game 7”. To that point the game was peppered with dominant Toronto moments. His voice was raspy.

“For sure. It worked for us”, said Tucker.

There was no immediate word on the health of Fred VanVleet or Delon Wright.

Forward DeMarre Carroll says the Raptors could use the rest afforded by closing out the Bucks sooner than later. The Bucks are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings, the favorite is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings and the under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.

“Today we played as a team”, Jonas Valanciunas said in the locker room afterward. Additionally, the 118 points scored was the most ever scored in a playoff game, surpassing the 116 scored against Miami last April.

Bucks: Middleton started despite suffering from an illness. The ball dropped in and he added the free throw for a 3-point play.

“I’m an emotional player”, he added. He’s one of the (oldest) souls.

“It’s cool how it played out”, Powell said.

But in the end it’s still going to come down to the team that plays harder. “We want to take care of them on the road”. “I love proving people wrong”. The ground wasn’t icy or snowy, and he said he wasn’t doing hills.

“I told myself I needed to be more aggressive”. “A session between coaches and players”. “You’re going to have to take an arm and a leg off him before you keep him from playing”. He’s gonna get out there and get dirty.

“They were pushing each other, I don’t know”, Valanciunas said dryly of Middleton and Monroe.