The Sports Xchange
Apr 22, 2017
MILWAUKEE -- DeMar DeRozan shook off his dismal Game 3 performance and scored 33 points as the Toronto Raptors posted an 87-76 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon, evening their Eastern Conference first-round series at two wins apiece.
DeRozan missed all eight of his field goals and scored just eight points in Toronto's 27-point Game 3 loss but exploded early Saturday, scoring 21 points in the first half and made 12-of-22 shots for the game.
Kyle Lowry added 18 points for Toronto, which shot 41.3 percent as a team and went 5-for-22 from beyond the arc.
Tony Snell led Milwaukee with 19 points. He hit five 3-pointers but the rest of the team went 0-for-11 from distance. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greg Monroe each finished with 14 points for the Bucks, who shot 37 percent from the field.
Milwaukee turned the ball over 20 times with Antetokounmpo accounting for seven.
Both teams struggled to shoot as well as protect the ball early but went into the break tied at 41.
Norman Powell drained a corner 3 to put the Raptors up 59-53 with 4:40 left in the third. A 3-pointer from Lowry gave Toronto a nine-point edge.
Khris Middelton stopped Toronto's 9-0 run with a jumper to cut the deficit to six but Lowry drilled a wide-open 3 to push the Raptors back up nine.
The Bucks caught a break in the closing seconds when Jonas Valanciunas was called for his fourth foul, sending him to the bench. Antetokounmpo picked up his fourth just 90 seconds into the fourth but stayed on the floor.
Milwaukee went 5:32 without a field goal in the fourth but still managed to stay within six. Antetokounmpo hit one of two from the line to make it a five-point affair, but the Bucks turned it over on their next two possessions and Powell sank a pair from the line with 4:30 left, putting the Raptors back up seven. He followed that with a corner 3-pointer to make it a 79-69 game with four minutes left, giving Toronto its biggest lead of the night.
NOTES: Raptors coach Dwane Casey suggested there would be changes after his team lost Game 3 and he kept true to his word, inserting F Norm Powell into the starting lineup while moving Jonas Valanciunas to the bench and shifting Serge Ibaka to center. ... After missing all eight of his field goal attempts and scoring only eight points from the free throw line in Game 3, DeMar DeRozan responded with 33 points on 12-for-22 shooting in Game 4. ... The series continues Monday night in Toronto with Game 6 set for Thursday back in Milwaukee.