TORONTO — Dwane Casey entered the Raptors’ record book Sunday but would only talk about it begrudgingly.
"I appreciate all the players that have been here," Casey said in deflecting praise after his franchise-record 157th win as Toronto coach. "DeMar DeRozan has been here through all the whole number of wins.
"We started, as Drake says, at the bottom. We’re not there yet. We started 30th in the league in defence and (did) a lot of building. And we’re still building. Nobody wants to hear that but we’re in the middle of a process of getting to where we need to go and we’re not done."
Defence helped lead the way Sunday in the 106-87 win over Milwaukee that moved Casey past Sam Mitchell for Toronto coaching wins.
The Bucks, the league’s second-youngest team with an average age of 23.7, turned the ball over 11 times in the first half alone.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points and Patrick Patterson added 16 as the Raptors improved to 3-0 out of the blocks for the first time since 2008-09. Milwaukee, meanwhile, is winless in three.
Mitchell, now interim coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, posted his 156 Raptors wins in 345 games from 2004 to 2008. Casey has coached 313 games since taking over in 2011.
"I’m happy for him," said DeRozan. "He’s a players’ coach. He’s one of those guys that always keeps you in a positive mindset. When you go out there and play for him, you can’t do nothing but play hard for him because you understand he’s going to have your back through good and bad."
DeRozan and Kyle Lowry finished with 15 points apiece for Toronto before a sellout crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre. DeRozan, 12-for-32 in his first two games, made his first five shots and finished 7-for-13.
Milwaukee led 10-7 in the first quarter before Toronto grabbed the lead and never gave it up. The margin was as many as 21 at one point but it was down to 10 going into the final quarter.
After Milwaukee cut the lead to 83-77 early in the fourth, Toronto reeled off 14 straight points with Terrence Ross and Patterson combining to score the Raptors’ first 19 points of the quarter. Ross, whose 11 points all came in the final quarter, made three three-pointers and Patterson two during that stretch as Toronto’s reserves scored 21 of the team’s 25 points in the fourth.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 20 points.
"There was a lot of good things," said Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd. "We played three quarters. Again in the fourth, we just let go of the rope. So we have to get better at that."
The Raptors kick off a four-game road trip Tuesday in Dallas. Ten of their next 12 games are away from home.
"This road trip’s going to be a bear," said Casey, acknowledging he is still learning about his team.
"But I like what we have," he added. "I like the fight, I like the toughness, I like our defence first and I like the way our offence was moving the ball tonight."
The contest marked the return of guard Greivis Vasquez, traded to Milwaukee in the off-season. He was greeted with cheers when he came into the game midway through the first quarter.
It was a quiet evening for the Venezuelan, who got a hug from Casey when he entered the game and finished with nine points.
"It’s kind of emotional," Vasquez said.
Milwaukee’s final turnover tally was 18, at a cost of 24 points, as Milwaukee lost its third in a row to open the season for the first time since dropping its first five in 1976-77.