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Eyes of the beholders

The late, great John Wayne once ranked “True Grit” as one of his favorite movies in which he starred.

If Wayne had been in attendance at the Air Canada Centre and witnessed the grit the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks displayed in their 82-75 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 2, he would have enjoyed that, too.

The Bucks began the game with nine players. Their starting lineup included guard Jorge Gutierrez, who just signed a 10-day contract with the team Jan. 28. He was making his first NBA start of the season after playing for the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League less than two weeks earlier.

Milwaukee’s ranks dwindled to eight after guard O.J. Mayo was assessed two technical fouls and ejected from the game with four minutes remaining in the second quarter.

But the gritty Bucks didn’t relent. They did tire and managed only nine points in the fourth quarter, but they made enough stops and enough plays to win the game, 82-75. Toronto’s output was an opponent season low for Milwaukee, which improved to 5-0 this season when holding an opponent under 80 points and 17-0 when limiting the opposition to under 90 points.

Two nights later, the Bucks rallied for a 113-105 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, achieving their first five-game winning streak since March of 2012, and climbed five games above .500 for the first time since Jan. 29, 2013.

Forward Ersan Ilyasova and center Zaza Pachulia, who missed both games with a right groin strain and a right calf strain, respectively, expressed great admiration for the grit and resourcefulness their teammates displayed to overcome the team’s manpower shortage and extend its winning streak.

“We’ve been missing a lot of players, but everyone has been doing a great job of executing and sticking to the game plan,” Ilyasova said. “Some guys are obviously playing a lot of minutes. It would be great to have more guys to put out there, but the guys who’ve been playing have been giving it their all. When we step out on the floor, it’s not about five guys; it’s about our whole team. The guys have done a heck of a job.

“Everybody contributes in some way. When you look at our team, we’ve lost a couple people, but we don’t have a guy who’s going to go out and score 20 points every night. It’s a team. Everybody plays from the heart. We have to continue to play that way.”

Pachulia credited the team’s resilience to being on the same page and mutual trust.

“It starts, obviously, with the system,” Pachulia said. “We have a system where everyone is locked in and knows what they are supposed to do offensively and defensively.

“The biggest problem is when guys are out, other guys are having to play too many minutes. Guys get tired and banged-up and could use substitutions, but the guys have been playing great and working hard on the floor. We’re getting rewarded for that.”

Ilyasova likened the situation to one he experienced with the Bucks several seasons ago.

“I remember in 2010-11 when we made the playoffs and played Atlanta,” he said. “We had a lot of guys hurt and other guys had to fill in. It was kind of the same way. It was all about the team and playing as a team.

“I’m really feeling good about the way this team is playing together and supporting each other offensively and defensively.”

The Bucks who haven’t been able to play have remained plugged in to each game, supporting the players on the court in any way they can.

“We wish we could be out there helping the team, but at the same time, that’s been great to see,” Pachulia said. “K-Mart’s (Kenyon Martin’s) presence has been really important, even on nights like tonight when he didn’t play. He’s made a big difference on the court and off the court as well.

“Communication and motivation are huge. We tell the guys not to hang their heads, because that’s when other teams make their runs. It’s been a total team effort. We’ve been getting so much production and support from the bench, and everyone’s always talking. I just wish everyone could get healthy.”

As badly as Pachulia wants to return to action, he knows patience is vital where injuries are concerned.

“Injuries are part of the game, and you have to be smart with them,” Pachulia said. “You have to make sure guys feel 100 percent before they’re back out there.

“I’m making progress every day, spending a lot of time with the trainers and doing little things and trying to stay in shape. I’m limited, unfortunately, but whatever I can do, I’m doing 100-percent in order to get back.”

Bucks guard Brandon Knight, Milwaukee’s leading scorer with an average of 17.9 points per outing, missed his first game of the season at Toronto with a right quad strain and was relegated to the bench alongside Ilyasova and Pachulia.

Knight, too, was inspired by what the Bucks’ skeleton crew accomplished.

“Big-time,” Knight said. “Our team isn’t making excuses this year, no matter what. Whether we have six guys, seven guys, eight guys or nine guys, no matter who’s on the court, the main goal is to win, no matter what the situation is. That’s what the Bucks’ motto is now, ‘Win at all costs.’”

Knight returned to the lineup and contributed 24 points to Milwaukee’s victory over the Lakers on Feb. 4, during which only eight Bucks played.

“We were talking about it earlier, that we thought this was a win we had to have as a team,” Knight said. “I was kind of joking, but serious, that last year, we never approached any game saying, ‘We’ve got to have this win. We can’t lose this game.’ So you can tell the entire attitude of our team has changed, and it’s going to continue to get better as well.”

As usual, Knight was counting his blessings after the come-from-behind victory, during which he made a series of clutch shots after struggling to find the range earlier.

“I just give glory to God,” Knight said. “Those are times you work for. My teammates did a great job of keeping us in the game.

“O.J. hit some big-time shots. Khris (Middleton) played well. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) played well. A lot of guys played well. We had some lapses as an entire unit, but guys played well and kept us in the game. It felt good to make plays at the end to close it out.”