No Lowry, no problem.
The Toronto Raptors swept their two-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks with a win on Thursday night and once again they got it done without their franchise icon as Kyle Lowry sat out the last six quarters of the two-game stint due to injuries.
It’s not a fluke either. The Raptors' 110-96 win over the Bucks improved the Raptors record to 15-0 without their six-time all-star available for the entire game, dating back to Nov. 18, 2019.
What it means is not only do the Raptors have more depth and more play-making options than is often appreciated, but that a crucial six-game swing where Toronto plays the cream of the Eastern Conference five times is off to a fantastic start.
The game’s most pivotal sequence tells the tale. The Bucks cut a 23-point second-half lead down to 10 midway through the fourth quarter when Toronto called a clear out on the left wing for Pascal Siakam, who is flashing his all-star form after a slow start to the season. Siakam drove on Antetokounmpo, drew the foul and made the free throw and Toronto was up 13.
Then Siakam split a double team and found Norman Powell – the most efficient scorer that no one in the NBA talks about – who attacked the paint, got fouled and made his free throws to put Toronto up 15. Finally, OG Anunoby – who is showing more and more offensive chops to complement his all-NBA calibre defence – capped off an outstanding fourth quarter by once more attacking the paint before dropping a no-look bounce pass to a cutting DeAndre Bembry that he converted to put Toronto up 17 with five minutes to play.
Talent, poise and smarts under pressure. Maybe the Raptors will be all right after all?
“I think we just move the ball -- not saying we don't move the ball when Kyle's in the lineup -- but I thought we were moving the ball well,” said Powell, who was joined in the starting line-up by Bembry who took Lowry’s place as the Raptors started with a small line-up for the second straight game. “I think the small-ball lineup gives us a lot of pace, a lot of versatility, a lot of different looks, even with Kyle in the lineup does the same thing. I dunno, I just think we're moving and letting the game work for us.”
The win improved Toronto’s record to 14-15 and moved them up to sixth place in the conference and handed the Bucks their fifth-straight loss as they fell to 16-13, though still good enough to remain in third place in the crowded East.
“We didn't want any splits, that's our motto going into back-to-back games when we're facing the same team,” said Powell. “After you win the first one, teams are going to come out a little stronger, a little bit more aggressive against us, making adjustments, and I thought we did a great job of sustaining our defensive foundation in both games, executing the game plan really well. So it's definitely two big wins for us.”
The Raptors non-Lowry core led the way. Along with Powell’s big night Fred VanVleet – who might end up making his first all-star game in March – finished with 17 points and eight assists; Siakam had 27 points, six rebounds and five assists while Anunoby – in addition to his defensive responsibilities on Antetokounmpo -- had eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors held the Bucks to 39 per cent shooting and limited Antetokounmpo to 8-of-20 from the floor and fouled him out, his sixth coming on a frustration-fueled elbow to the jaw of Anunoby with 1:18 to play. He was called for a flagrant but Antetokounmpo probably should have been given a flagrant-2 and ejected.
Lowry’s status is up in the air. The injury to his left thumb occurred in the first quarter of Toronto’s win against the Bucks Tuesday and got overlooked because he left the game shortly after the half because of a sprained ankle. It’s the same thumb that Lowry had to have surgery on after the 2019 championship run and caused him to miss some time last season as well.
Nurse said he would be held out of the Raptors game Friday night against Minnesota and be re-evaluated after that. The Raptors called up rookie Malachi Flynn from the G-League bubble. He flew by a private plane from Orlando after playing 33 minutes in an 11 a.m. Raptors 905 start, arrived in Milwaukee 30 minutes before the tip and played five minutes.
The Raptors were starting to fray midway through the third quarter as Antetokounmpo --- with some help from his energetic older brother Thanasis who scored three of the brothers’ 14 third-quarter points – shaved what had grown to a 23 point down to 10 as the Raptors started the fourth quarter leading 85-72. But Toronto was able to keep it together and surge back in the fourth, with Siakam’s three-point play providing the spark although the Raptors were able to get to the rim more successfully than has been typical against the Bucks, one of the NBA’s best paint-protecting teams.
“Just trying to be aggressive,” Siakam said. “Take whatever the defence gives me. It’s a move that I make all the time. One-on-one coverage, so just try to make a play.”
Early on, the Raptors picked up almost exactly where they left off in the fourth quarter of their win over the Bucks on Tuesday when they finished strong and held Milwaukee to 1-of-11 shooting down the stretch. It wasn’t quite that dramatic, but the Raptors led 33-26 after 12 minutes as they held the NBA’s second-ranked offence to respectable 45 per cent shooting.
Meanwhile, even without Lowry, the Raptors' offence kept clicking. With Bembry in the starting lineup, Nurse chose versatility on defence and low-usage smarts on offence. The beneficiary seemed to be Powell who has been outstanding in a starting role this season and was especially so in the first quarter and he went off for 15 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting including three made threes.
But it was Toronto’s adherence to their defensive principles that set the tone.
“It doesn’t really start with defence. As I’ve mentioned you have to really take care of the basketball. They are so great turning turnovers into fastbreak buckets. You have to take rhythm shots on offence so that your team is not putting itself in a half-second or full-second delay on whether they can get back or not,” said Nurse before the game. “So, it starts with that. Then you really have to hustle back and try to use a minimum of two, sometimes three guys, to slow Giannis down in transition so he can’t get to the rim.
"Then obviously the next step is if you do that he’s usually kicking it out to a pretty good shooter so you have to peel out as fast as you can and start playing from there. Now, that’s part of it to get all that done to get them in the half court and then there’s several little schemes we like to do when they get in their halfcourt game as well. It’s a lot. It’s a lot for our players to do. They got tremendous size and length and athleticism and a lot of shooting so it’s quite a list of things you have to get done to be successful against this team at the defensive end.”
By the time Toronto headed into the half leading 58-41 – a season-low for the Bucks on their way to a season-low score for a game. Antetokounmpo had four field goals on eight attempts, but three second-quarter turnovers. Toronto was able to contain Kris Middleton as well, holding him to 2-of-7 shooting in the half and five turnovers on his way to 13 points for the game. For the half, the Raptors turned 10 Bucks turnovers into 18 points, and 24 points off 15 turnovers for the game.
The Raptors were able to hold on in the second half, although it got tense at times. They showed that even without Lowry they can beat one of the league’s best teams and handily at that.
Can they build on it?
That’s eluded them at times this season, but they keep giving themselves chances.
