Bucks-Raptors Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Jan 12 2013 10:21PM

After a terrible start, the Toronto Raptors seem to be turning their season around.

They'll try to notch their third three-game win streak of the season on Sunday in a matchup against a Milwaukee Bucks team they've struggled against recently.

The Raptors (14-22) started the season 4-19 but Friday's 99-78 rout of visiting Charlotte was their 10th win in 13 games. The turnaround began two games after they lost starting forward Andrea Bargnani (16.0 points per game) indefinitely to a torn elbow ligament in a Dec. 10 loss at Portland.

Without Bargnani, Toronto has seemingly discovered better offensive balance. Four others are averaging 10.3 ppg or more, with DeMar DeRozan leading the way at 17.8. Seven different players have been the Raptors' top scorer at least once over the last 13 games. Alan Anderson filled that role with 16 off the bench in Friday's victory while three others scored at least 12.

Toronto is averaging 99.0 points over its last 13 games compared to 95.2 in its first 23 contests. The Raptors also are averaging 5.3 more assists in those 13 games.

"Everybody was looking for the open guy," said Jose Calderon, who had 15 points and six assists. "Sharing is fun when you do that. It was great to see everybody scoring and moving the ball."

An improved defense has also contributed to the team's recent success. The Raptors have allowed 90.2 ppg during their 10-3 surge after previously giving up 102.6. They're 8-0 when holding opponents below 90, which has happened five times during that span.

Toronto will likely need to continue that strong defense as it attempts to end a four-game home losing streak to Milwaukee and win for only the third time in the last 14 meetings overall.

The Bucks (18-17) suffered their first loss in three games under interim coach Jim Boylan, 103-87 to Detroit on Friday. Boylan took over after Scott Skiles and Milwaukee mutually agreed to part ways on Monday.

Playing their third game in four nights, the Bucks were outscored 33-11 in the third quarter. They shot 39.6 percent from the field and a season-worst 1 of 16 (6.3 percent) from 3-point range.

"It seemed like our legs got a little heavy in the third quarter," Boylan said. "Pretty evident by the fact that we missed a lot of open, good looks that we had throughout the game."

At least one thing has remained consistent for Milwaukee: Larry Sanders' defense. Sanders has blocked at least one shot in 22 straight games and leads the NBA at 3.3 per contest.

Toronto got rookie Terrence Ross back on Friday after he missed the previous game with a sore left ankle. Meanwhile, Amir Johnson continues to play through an ankle injury. Averaging 8.6 ppg this season, Johnson has scored 13 or more in four of his last five.

"He brings it every night," coach Dwane Casey said. "Most guys with an ankle like his would be out for two or three months. He's a warrior. He's the heart and soul of our team."

Boylan would surely like to get more out of leading scorer Monta Ellis (18.9), who has averaged 13.3 points on 17-of-45 shooting since the coaching change.

Jennings scores 19, Bucks beat Raptors 107-96

By IAN HARRISON
Posted Jan 13 2013 5:59PM

TORONTO (AP) Milwaukee's Larry Sanders has made a name for himself as a shot blocker this season. Few have been as pivotal as the one he pulled off against Toronto on Sunday.

Brandon Jennings had 19 points and 10 assists, rookie John Henson scored 19 and the Bucks rallied from a 20-point first quarter deficit to beat Toronto 107-96, their eighth straight victory over the Raptors.

Sanders extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one block to 23 with a pair of rejected shots. His biggest, however, was a block on DeMar DeRozan's layup attempt with 3:09 to play and the Bucks clinging to a 92-91 lead.

"He's a flier," Sanders said of DeRozan. "I just had to try and get the timing right."

Sanders handed the ball to Jennings, who fed Mike Dunleavy for a key 3-pointer that gave the Bucks a four-point cushion.

"After that, we were looking good," said Dunleavy, who called the block "tremendous."

Sanders finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks, who won for the 12th time in 15 meetings with the Raptors.

Monta Ellis scored 17 points and Dunleavy had 15 as the Bucks improved to 3-1 under new coach Jim Boylan.

Boylan said Sanders has undergone a defensive transformation in this, his third NBA season.

"From where he was just a few months ago to where is he now, I've never seen anybody make that sort of progress," Boylan said. "Larry can do things that very few guys can do with his defensive ability. We're fortunate to have him. In the fourth quarter I thought he was just phenomenal"

Amir Johnson had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Ed David had 20 and 12 for the Raptors, who led 32-12 early but lost their fifth straight home meeting with the Bucks.

DeRozan scored 23 points and Jose Calderon scored 15 of his 21 in Toronto's big first quarter, but the Raptors couldn't hold on, losing for the first time in three games.

"After the first quarter we went out of our defensive focus," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I don't know what it was, we let up."

Henson's hook shot with 6:54 to go gave Milwaukee its first lead of the fourth quarter at 87-86 and, after a three-second call on Toronto, Sanders followed by tipping in a missed shot from Ellis.

But after Sanders missed a pair of free throws with 4:23 left, Davis answered with a slam dunk, giving Toronto a 91-90 lead.

Jennings restored Milwaukee's lead with two free throws before Sanders' big block put the Bucks in control.

"He's always making the big defensive stops for us," Jennings said of Sanders, who came in leading the league with 3.3 blocks per game.

Ellis made a layup, Sanders made two free throws and a dunk and Milwaukee led 101-91 before Fields ended a 2:45 drought by making one of two from the line.

Calderon, who scored 10 first quarter points in Friday's 99-78 win over Charlotte, was hot again to start this one. The Spanish guard hit six of seven field goal attempts in the first, including all three of his 3-point attempts, and poured in 15 points as Toronto opened a 34-16 lead after one.

Calderon left grimacing with four seconds remaining in the first and jogged back to the locker room for treatment on his right calf. With Calderon out, Milwaukee closed the gap with a 12-0 run to start the second quarter.

Calderon returned with 3:39 left in the half but the Bucks kept up the pressure, taking advantage of 10 Toronto turnovers. A fast break layup by Jennings tied at 47-all with 23 seconds left but two free throws by Quincy Acy gave the Raptors a narrow 49-47 edge at the intermission.

Johnson limped off with a sore right ankle with 1:02 left in the second, but both he and Calderon started the third for Toronto. DeRozan scored 10 points as the Raptors reclaimed the advantage and took a 78-74 lead into the fourth.

NOTES: Henson scored a career-high 20 points against San Antonio on Jan. 2. ... Milwaukee's bench outscored Toronto's 43-7. ... This was the first of a four-game road trip for Milwaukee. The three remaining games are at the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix and Portland. ... Toronto is 0-17 when surrendering 100 points or more.

Notebook: Bucks 107, Raptors 96

Duane Watson, for NBA.com
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013 4:57 PM - Updated Sun Jan 13, 2013 4:57 PM

THE FACTS: The Milwaukee Bucks (19-17) defeated the Toronto Raptors (14-23) 107-96 at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday afternoon. The Bucks have now won their eighth consecutive game against the Raptors and their third under new head coach Jim Boylan, who is 3-1 at the helm.

The Bucks pulled out the win in a dogfight in the second half and were led by their backcourt of Brandon Jennings' 19 points and 10 assists and Monta Ellis' 17 points. Their bench stepped up with rookie John Henson scoring 19 points and Mike Dunleavy adding 15. Larry Sanders added 11 points and 8 rebounds with a key block to shift the game.

After jumping out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter, where Jose Calderon scored 15 points for the Raptors. Toronto followed up their 34-16 opening frame by shooting .278 percent from the field in the second and giving up 10 turnovers leading to 13 Milwaukee points, and letting the Bucks creep to within a basket at halftime 49-47.

Despite the Bucks tying the game three times Toronto was able to slightly extend their lead 78-74 at the end of the third quarter behind DeMar DeRozan's 10 third-quarter points. The fourth quarter saw the game tied three times with three lead changes. However, Sanders the league leader in blocked shots at 3.3 per game, made a big one on DeRozan with 3:09 left, which sparked a 9-0 Bucks run, giving Milwaukee a 101-91 lead that the Raptors couldn't recover from.

The Raptors were led by DeRozan's 23 points, while Amir Johnson had a season-high 22 point and 14 rebound double-double and Ed Davis added his own with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jose Calderon was the fourth Raptor with 20-plus points with 21 points and eight assists.

QUOTABLE: "He's always making big defensive stops for us, always engaging the guys, always running to get that big stop for us."
-- Bucks guard Jennings on Sanders defense.

THE STAT: While the Raptors bench has been strong during this recent stretch, the Bucks second unit dominated this game outscoring them 43-7. The Raptors bench shot only 2-for-16 from the field.

TURNING POINT: With a very closely contested second half, Sanders block on DeRozan made the difference with 3:09 left and sparked a 15-5 Bucks run to close out the game.

QUOTABLE II: "John Is a funny player, he's a rookie and he's got 2 or 3 good plays and a couple bad plays. I don't have much hair left, but whatever it is, it's probably going to be coming out soon."
-- Bucks Head Coach Boylan on rookie John Henson.

HOT: Calderon had a remarkable first quarter shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from the 3-point line for 15 points and four assists, he left the game with 4.1 seconds with a sore right calf. He did return and finished the game with 21 points and 8 assists on 9-for-15 shooting.

NOT: After a 34-point first quarter, Toronto couldn't score a basket until Davis' lay-up with eight minutes left in the second quarter. They shot .278 percent (5-for-18) from the field, while allowing the Bucks to shoot .571 percent. In addition they turned over the ball 10 times, leading to 13 Bucks points.

GOOD MOVE: Johnson re-aggravated his sore right ankle after stepping on someone's foot in the second quarter and Calderon tweaked his right calf in the first. Both went to the locker room after their injuries but returned and re-entered the game. They both had strong games as their teams needed them.

NOTABLE: Milwaukee won its first game of a four-game road trip and is 9-8 on the road for the season. The Bucks recorded their fifth-largest comeback (20 points) by an opponent. Toronto had a streak of 121 consecutive minutes while trailing at the 10:40 mark of the third quarter. Toronto falls to 0-17 when opponents score 100-plus points.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors; Tuesday @ Brooklyn, Wednesday vs Chicago, Friday @ Philadelphia. For the Bucks; Tuesday @ Lakers, Thursday @ Phoenix and Saturday @ Portland.

• Bucks: Lamb, Przybilla
• Raptors: Bargnani, Valanciunas

• Bucks: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #47 Bennie Adams, #74 Curtis Blair
• Attendance: 17384
• Duration: 2:20