Bucks keep the home cooking going in third straight double-digit win
The Milwaukee Bucks kept up their winning ways at Fiserv Forum, winning their third game in a row against the Toronto Raptors, 130-112. Giannis and Dame continued to shine as one of the NBA’s best duos, combining for 61 points and 21/28 shooting from the free throw line.
Game Recap
Another game, another hot start for the Bucks in the first quarter. Giannis got to the line in the first two possessions of the game, while Dame chipped in seven points of his own during the opening salvo. The initial run was punctuated by a beautiful lob from Dame to Giannis, forcing a Raptors timeout. Credit to Toronto, they swung back after the timeout, going on a 7-2 run to make it a 16-10 game with 6:23 to go in the quarter. That did not last, as the Bucks took control of the game once again, going on a 12-6 run to juice their lead to 14. The quarter came to a close in a chaotic sequence, where after a pass from Giannis, Gary Trent Jr. had to save the ball to Bobby Portis, who scored on a tough layup despite having Giannis wide-open underneath. When the dust settled, the Bucks held a 37-22 edge heading into the second quarter. Overall, the Bucks held the Raptors to just 9/22 from the field and 1/5 from beyond the arc.
The Bucks continued to impose their will and were having fun doing it. They pushed their lead to as high as 20 points and went into cruise control for the rest of the quarter. Damian Lillard kept up his strong play as he dropped in another seven points during his time on the floor. Despite the big lead, it wasn’t a complete snoozefest, with Giannis throwing down a filthy left-handed dunk near the end of the half. Lillard was fouled on a three-point shot with 3.9 seconds left on the clock and nailed all three. However, there was enough time for the Raptors to throw up a prayer shot from Gradey Dick, which missed, but Portis fell asleep, and Kelly Olynyk took advantage to sky in for the miss to make a layup. Even with that lapse, the Bucks still found themselves with a 15-point lead heading into the locker room, 72-57.
LEFTY FREAKY FLUSH IN TRAFFIC. pic.twitter.com/nyo8J8ahPd
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 18, 2025
Things continued to go the Bucks’ way early on in the third, scoring six of the first 10 points to keep the lead in double figures at 19 points. Davion Mitchell and Olynyk tried to mount a comeback for the Raptors, closing the Bucks’ lead down to 12 points with 2:51 to go in the frame. Milwaukee responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to get the game back to a 20-point lead with 50 seconds left. Toronto did respond at the end of the quarter with a Boucher layup in transition after a turnover from Giannis, though. The Bucks went into the final quarter of regulation up 107-91.
The Raptors simply wouldn’t go away without a fight during the fourth quarter and tried to get the game back within single digits. Toronto carried over their 4-0 end of the third into a full 10-0 run for themselves, cutting the Bucks lead down to 10 with 10:21 left. Some of the Bucks’ role players came to the rescue as Trent hit a mid-range fadeaway, and Tauren Prince hit a big wing three-ball to push the lead back to 18, forcing another timeout from Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković. The Raptors never got much closer than that, as the Bucks were able to close out a team below .500 by 18 points.
Stat That Stood Out
The Bucks (particularly Giannis) got to the free-throw line nearly anytime they wanted against the Raptors’ defense. They forced Toronto over the limit in the first three quarters of this one, and Milwaukee shot 41 free throws compared to 24 for the Raptors.
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