TORONTO -- Putting Norm Powell in the starting lineup has changed the playoff fortunes of the
Toronto Raptors.
Powell scored a career playoff-high 25 points,
Kyle Lowry had 16 points and 10 assists and the Raptors beat the
Milwaukee Bucks 118-93 in Game 5 of their first-round series on Monday night.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey said Powell has been "a spark plug."
"In this series, he's been the X-factor," Casey said.
Serge Ibaka scored 19 points and
DeMar DeRozan
had 18 for the Raptors, who can advance to face defending champion
Cleveland in the second round with a victory in Game 6 at Milwaukee on
Thursday night.
"We've got to treat it like Game 7, period,"
DeRozan said. "We can't be happy with these last two games. We've just
got to treat this next game like it's Game 7."
Many in the sellout crowd of 20,251 rose to their feet and chanted `Raps in six' in the final minute of the game.
"If we want to continue to play, if we want to push it to a Game 7, we've got to win at home," Bucks rookie point guard
Malcolm Brogdon said. "If we don't come out and give the energy that we need to then we'll lose and we'll be done."
Pressed
into action after Milwaukee routed Toronto 104-77 in Game 3, Powell
delivered a much-needed jolt of energy and athleticism as Toronto ground
out a victory in Game 4.
On Monday, Powell added scoring punch to
his playoff resume. He connected on all four of his 3-point attempts
and brought the crowd to its feet with a baseline dunk over
Antetokounmpo and
Thon Maker in the fourth quarter.
"Powell
has come in with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball and they're
feeding off of that," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said.
"He's playing
extremely hard and he's knocking down shots. When you look at the stat
sheet, he's picked them up here the last couple of games just with his
energy and his spirit."
Brogdon said Powell has given Toronto more versatility.
"They
move the ball better with him in the game," Brogdon said. "They can
spread the floor better, everybody can attack, everybody can make
plays."
Toronto lost Game 6 on the road at Indiana in the first
round and at Miami in the second round last year, rebounding to win Game
7 at home each time. They were eliminated in six games in the Eastern
Conference Final against the Cavs, losing at home in the clincher.
DeMarre Carroll scored 12 points as all five Raptors starters reached double figures.
Cory Joseph had 10 points off the bench for Toronto.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with a career playoff-high 30 points while Brogdon scored 19 points and
Greg Monroe had 11.
Ibaka
and Powell each scored nine points in the first and the Raptors used a
17-0 run to open a 31-20 lead after the opening quarter. Milwaukee
committed five turnovers in the first, leading to 10 points for Toronto.
"Our
defense kind of got hit again in the first quarter," Kidd said. "We
knew they were going to come after us, we had to expect that, and we
just couldn't respond."
Monroe and
Jonas Valanciunas
were called for double technicals after a minor shoving match under the
Milwaukee basket in the third. After Valanciunas took exception to a
hard foul from
Khris Middleton, Monroe pushed his own teammate out of the way so he could shove Valanciunas.
TIP-INS
Bucks:
Middleton started despite suffering from an illness. He scored eight
points ... Milwaukee missed five of seven free-throw attempts in the
first half. They finished 15 for 26 ... The Bucks didn't have any
second-chance points. ... Antetokounmpo had nine rebounds.
Raptors:
The Raptors finished with 28 assists, one shy of their season-high. ...
Toronto scored 30 or more in two quarters after doing so just once in
the previous four games. ... The Raptors went 24 for 26 at the
free-throw line. DeRozan and Valanciunas each had one miss.
NOT BACKING DOWN
Lowry
started despite not being able to participate in shootaround because of
a stiff back. He remained standing during timeouts and lay down on the
court when he came out of the game. "He's a tough kid," Casey said.
"You're going to have to take an arm and a leg off him before you keep
him from playing."
HORROR SHOW
Toronto's Carroll said a
"heated film session" following the Game 3 blowout loss helped the
Raptors regain their focus. "A lot of times when you get in a heated
film session it can go bad or it can go good," Carroll said. "I feel
like we came together, we saw the problem and we're just trying to build
from this."
Check out the team sites for the
Milwaukee Bucks and the
Toronto Raptors for more game coverage.
TOR wins series 4-2
2016-2017 Central Standings
2016-2017 Atlantic Standings
