Bucks-Raptors Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Mar 11 2012 12:54AM

A visit to Toronto might provide the Milwaukee Bucks with an excellent opportunity to end their current road skid and win back-to-back games for the first time in a month.

The Bucks look to snap a four-game road losing streak with a sixth straight win over the Raptors on Sunday night.

In order to move into playoff position in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee (16-24) must find a way to string together some wins. The Bucks could start by winning consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 8-10 after they held on for a 119-114 victory over New York on Friday night.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 26 points while Brandon Jennings and Mike Dunleavy each added 25. Milwaukee almost blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead but came out ahead to move within two games of the Knicks, owners of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

"That's why this was a big game," said Jennings, who also had 10 assists.

Perhaps equally important, the Bucks showed they can hold a lead after failing to keep several slim advantages before losing 106-104 to Chicago on Derrick Rose's last-second shot Wednesday.

"It hurt us losing the one to Chicago," said big man Drew Gooden, who has averaged 19.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in the last seven games. "We still did a terrible job trying to close the game out (Friday). We can't allow that."

Milwaukee usually has had little trouble holding leads during a five-game winning streak over the Raptors, which dates to a 101-96 loss at Toronto on Jan. 22, 2010.

Though the Bucks are 6-15 away from home this season, they have made 50.2 percent of their shots and averaged 108.3 points while winning their last three trips north of the border. Former Raptors swingman Carlos Delfino had 25 points with nine rebounds and Gooden scored 20 with 14 boards in Milwaukee's 105-99 win at Toronto on Feb. 8.

Gooden is averaging 20.3 points and 12.0 rebounds in his last three games against the Raptors.

Back spasms kept Ilyasova out at Toronto last month, but the Raptors (13-27) need to be ready for his presence Sunday. Helping to fill in for injured center Andrew Bogut, the 6-foot-10 Ilyasova has totaled 58 points on 23-of-31 shooting in the last two contests overall.

Ending their struggles against Milwaukee could get even tougher for the Raptors, who will be without point guard Jose Calderon after he sprained his ankle during Saturday's 105-86 loss at Detroit.

"We'll have to come up with something," coach Dwane Casey said about replacing Calderon, whose X-rays were negative. "We have Jerryd (Bayless) and (Gary) Forbes at the point, and (Leandro Barbosa) can slide over. We'll figure it out."

On a positive note, Andrea Bargnani (22.4 points per game) returned to the Raptors' lineup Saturday after missing 20 games with a calf injury. Though Bargnani had just eight points in 19 minutes at Detroit, he's averaged 22.7 in his last three games versus Milwaukee.

Averaging 21.5 points in his last four games overall, Toronto's DeMar DeRozan has combined for 45 on 17-of-33 shooting in the last two home games against the Bucks.

Ilyasova scores 31 points as Bucks beat Raptors

Posted Mar 11 2012 9:41PM

TORONTO (AP) Ersan Ilyasova refused to stop, no matter how weary he was in the fourth quarter.

Ilyasova had 31 points and 12 rebounds in a career-high 44 minutes, Drew Gooden added 21 points and the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks beat Toronto 105-99 on Sunday night, their sixth straight victory over the Raptors.

With the Bucks down to just 10 healthy players, Ilyasova didn't get much time to take a breather against Toronto.

"I was really tired in the third quarter," Ilyasova said. "I just tried to keep on going."

He was fading again in the fourth, but stayed on the floor all the way to the finish.

"In the fourth quarter, I was looking at the clock and there were still six minutes left," Ilyasova said. "I just said, `We can make it. Just stick with the plan."'

Bucks coach Scott Skiles called it a "huge" performance by the Turkish forward, who finished one point shy of the career high he set against Chicago last week and also recorded his third double-double in four games.

"We were short-handed and I couldn't really get him a blow," Skiles said. "I had to keep him out there. He did what he's been doing all year. He made his jumper, made his shots around the basket, he was on the boards. Another productive night for him."

Mike Dunleavy scored 19 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, as the Bucks survived a final period that included seven lead changes to win their second straight and pull within one game of the New York Knicks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York lost at home to Philadelphia earlier Sunday.

"We're already sort of in playoff hunt mode," Dunleavy said. "We're starting to watch the standings to know what's going on."

Like Ilyasova, Dunleavy was feeling weary after playing a season-high 41 minutes.

"I'm glad we got the win," Dunleavy said. "I'm a little tired right now, though."

Rest wasn't an option for the injury-riddled Bucks, who lost Shaun Livingston (sprained left ankle) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (right knee) in Friday's win over New York. Milwaukee swingman Stephen Jackson has sidelined by a sore right hamstring since Feb. 19.

DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Jerryd Bayless had 16 for the Raptors, who couldn't hold on after leading by as many as 13 in the first half. Toronto has lost four of six.

"Somewhere in the game, we have a stretch of about three possessions where we just don't execute, don't complete a play or finish a play," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "The other team can come down and fumble, throw it out of bounds, roll the ball, catch it and throw in a 3. That's kind of our M.O."

Of Toronto's past 12 defeats, only one has been by more than seven points: Saturday's 105-86 loss at Detroit.

A 3-pointer by Ilyasova gave Milwaukee an 86-82 lead with 8:45 left, but back-to-back baskets by Amir Johnson put Toronto up 90-89 with 5:42 to go.

Dunleavy gave the Bucks a lead they would not relinquish, hitting a 3 from the corner with 4:45 left to make it 94-93. Ilyasova followed with a running jumper and DeRozan replied for Toronto before Brandon Jennings made one of three from the line and Beno Udrih added two more free throws, giving Milwaukee a 99-95 lead with 3:04 left.

Bayless cut it to two with a driving layup, but Ilyasova answered with a layup for Milwaukee. Udrih added a pair of free throws as the Bucks took a 103-97 lead with 39 seconds to play.

The Raptors made their first six field-goal attempts and led 10-4 on Andrea Bargnani's pull-up jumper less than three minutes in. Milwaukee fought back to tie it at 16, but Toronto pulled away again to lead 28-21 after one quarter.

"It was pretty much a layup drill for (Toronto) early in the game tonight," Skiles said. "That's not acceptable if you want to have any bigger goals than just sneaking in (to the playoffs)."

Toronto widened its lead to 40-27 on Linas Kleiza's 3-pointer with 8:58 left in the half, but the Bucks battled back again. Ilyasova scored 11 points in the second as Milwaukee cut the deficit to five, 56-51, at the intermission.

Milwaukee took advantage of six Toronto turnovers in the third to take its first lead of the game at 75-74 on a pair of free throws by Ilyasova with 2:06 left in the quarter. Leandro Barbosa's 3 with 35 seconds left gave the Raptors a 79-78 edge heading into the fourth.

Notes: Skiles said neither Mbah a Moute nor Livingston are expected back for Monday night's game at New Jersey. ... Bayless started in place of Jose Calderon, who left Saturday's loss at Detroit after suffering a sprained right ankle. Calderon is day-to-day. ... Bargnani played at home for the first time since Jan. 11 against Sacramento.

Notebook: Bucks 105, Raptors 99

Posted Sunday March 11, 2012 9:47PM

By Duane Watson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Milwaukee Bucks (17-24) defeated the Toronto Raptors (13-28) 105-99 at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday. The score was the exact same total the Bucks won in Toronto on February 8th. The Bucks had four key players out due to injury and played eight players for the majority of the game.

The Raptors started the game on an 11-2 run and built on that lead to as much as 13 points until the Bucks took their first lead of the game 75-74 with 2:06 left in the third quarter. The Raptors closed out the third 79-78, setting the stage for a tightly contested fourth quarter. However, the Bucks shot 6-for-15 from the field and were 13-for-18 from the free throw line for the final frame to give them the win.

The Bucks were led by Ersan Ilyasova who scored 31 points, 12 rebounds and two steals, Drew Gooden scored 21 points, while Mike Dunleavy added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists off the bench. The Raptors were led by DeMar DeRozan's 21 points, while Jerryd Bayless added 16 and six assists starting in place of injured point guard Jose Calderon.

QUOTABLE: "I feel confident because I get a lot of minutes to play, with a lot of injuries we have. We're short on the big guys and I got this opportunity to step up and play basketball the way I do. I try and give 110 percent offensively as well as defensively."
-- Ilyasova on his improved play

QUOTABLE II: "Huge road victory for us. Every game right now is important to us for our goal that we want to accomplish and that is making the playoffs. Every game is important right now."
-- Gooden on the Bucks' playoff chase

THE STAT: Team fouls. The Raptors committed 30 team fouls to the Bucks' 18 and four Raptors players finished the game with five fouls. That disparity manifested itself further with the Bucks attempting 35 free throws to the Raptors' 19, almost sending them to the charity stripe twice as often.

TURNING POINT: While there was seven lead changes in the fourth quarter the Raptors had an opportunity to make one last run. But with 1:17 left Andrea Bargnani committed an offensive foul turning over the ball with Milwaukee up 101-97, and the game was out of reach.

HOT: Ilyasova played a strong second quarter for the Bucks, scoring 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting adding five rebounds. The Bucks finished the quarter on an 11-6 run, of which Ilyasova scored six points to close the quarter at 56-51. He's averaging 23.6 points and 10.0 rebounds over the past five games.

NOTABLE: The Bucks were without Andrew Bogut (ankle), Stephen Jackson (hamstring) Shaun Livingston (ankle) and Luc Mbah a Moute (knee) ... Calderon missed the game with a sprained right ankle ... Toronto is now 7-14 at home... The Raptors go on their longest road trip of the season of five games starting in Cleveland on Tuesday ... Milwaukee is 13-4 this season when scoring over 100+ points ... The Raptors are 1-10 when they allow 100 points ... Tonight DeRozan passed Damon Stoudamire with 123 consecutive starts, the second longest streak in team history ... Ilyasova has now scored 30+ points in two of the last three games, and notched his 11th double-double of the season.

UP NEXT: Toronto embarks on the road on Tuesday @ Cleveland, @ New Jersey on Wednesday and @ Memphis on Friday. Milwaukee is @ New Jersey on Monday, playing vs. Cleveland on Wednesday and @ Golden State on Friday.

• Bucks: Bogut
• Raptors: Calderon, Carter

• Bucks: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #75 Eric Dalen, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 17316
• Duration: 2:12