Powell scores 25 as Raptors beat Bucks 118-93 in Game 5

The Raptors failed to close out series in Game 6 on the road past year against in and Miami, although they rallied to win Game 7 at home both times.

Game five will be Wednesday at Washington and game six on Friday in Atlanta.

“I was just going quick, being aggressive, not waiting on the doubles”, DeRozan said. “They kept their energy up, they sustained it, they had guys come in and contribute off the bench, and we weren’t able to get enough stops”.

“Win or lose, we are here with you”.

The Raptors built a commanding 15-point lead before the first quarter was over. The Cavaliers, who ousted Toronto in the conference final last season, swept their series against Indiana.

The story of this game was Raptors’ guard Norman Powell, who was inserted into the starting lineup a few days ago. “Hopefully we’ve learned from previous year”. “We got it so I’m feeling great today”.

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 have learned, if they didn’t already know, that there is absolutely no quit in these Bucks. Joseph played a team-low eight minutes on Saturday.

Beasley is talented, but he’s not considered a good defender and it’s rare for him to impact a game when he’s not making shots. “We were exhausted, our legs were exhausted, we were missing shots, we weren’t playing with that zip like we normally play with”.

Casey spoke Tuesday about bringing a mindset of toughness Thursday, about meeting the compete level Milwaukee must have. It took a toll. “I’m going to take the bumps and bruises to be out there with my guys”, Lowry said after the game. With less room for error, the team can not wait until the fifth game to adjust again. The second-year player had arguably the best game of his career with a team-high 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-4 from three-point range. Now the Raptors head home for game 5 and a win means they do not have to return to Milwaukee facing elimination. “We just have to keep getting better and better, and get some momentum going throughout the series”. Casey, who is as sharp as a tack, did everything but chew a piece of straw during his meeting with the media.

Even though VanVleet may be far from home, he says he takes pride in his roots back in the Stateline.

“The most important thing is a win”.

And then the coach mentioned his opponents, a team that has been there before, that went to the conference finals past year and that knows something about playing well when facing elimination. Some stiff defence sent the ball quickly on offence – “swing, swing” is how he described it. “Give them credit; they slowed us down”. Bucks coach Jason Kidd had no answers, despite the Bucks playing seemingly solid basketball.

It was a game in which Milwaukee found itself hanging onto the edge of the precipice, never managing to pull itself back despite repeated efforts. Durant’s dunk extended the lead to 22-3 and the rout was on.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 14 points and totaled seven turnovers in Milwaukee’s Game 4 loss, while DeMar DeRozan led all players with 33 points. In their 60 minutes together in this series, per NBA.com, Lowry, DeRozan and Powell have outscored the Bucks by 20.1 points per 100 possessions.

Kyle Lowry did not participate in shootaround Monday morning prior to Game 5 due to “back stiffness”, though he is still expected to suit up tonight.