Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 122-119 win against Toronto Raptors
By Ben Sewell
The Big 3 march on
When the Bucks traded for Eric Bledsoe all those months ago, many questioned if another ball dominant point guard was what the doctor ordered for this roster. The three have proceeded to buck that train of thought as the season has progressed, however, as they put on a spectacle on Friday night in Toronto.
They combined for 68 points, 23 rebounds and 15 assists as they engaged in a rigorous arm wrestle, against the Raptors’ two All Star guards. Down the stretch, DeRozan found himself being matched against one of the Big 3 each and every time he came down the court. Milwaukee were excellent tonight in guarding both him and Kyle Lowry as they allowed very few fouls and often forced the Raptors into turnovers or difficult shots.
Antetokounmpo barely missed a beat on Friday night as he finished with a game high plus minus rating of +10. His best moment of the game came with 13.1 seconds left on the clock as he made a well defended step back jump shot to push the lead out to three points. It was a clutch shot from the Greek Freak as he continues to put more and more faith in his jump shot as teams proceed to pack the paint and stop him from making his trademark post moves and dunks.
As for Middleton and Bledsoe, they finished the night with 21 points respectively with reasonable efficiency. Bledsoe did finish with five turnovers but was able to offset that with eight boards as Milwaukee clearly won the rebounding contest on the night. For Middleton, it was a trademark night at the free throw line as he finished with 9-of-10 from the charity stipe.