The Milwaukee Bucks remained undefeated on Monday Night, taking care of business against the Toronto Raptors despite being without Giannis Antetokounmpo. Here’s what we can take away from the 124-109 win.
And then there was one. After dispatching the visiting Toronto Raptors 124-109 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Monday night, the the Milwaukee Bucks became the lone undefeated team remaining in the NBA at 7-0. It’s the first time the team has started 7-0 since the 1971-72 post-championship season.
It was a strange matchup for the Bucks as not only were they playing without their leading scorer and rebounder, Giannis Antetokounmpo who was sitting out while going through the concussion protocol, but they were playing the only other 6-0 team in the NBA, the Toronto Raptors, who were also without their leading scorer, Kawhi Leonard.
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So, the otherwise hotly-anticipated matchup was dampened without the presence of two MVP-caliber players, but it was still the first time in NBA history that two teams with records of 6-0 or better had faced off.
Without Giannis, the Bucks were a much-more balanced offensive attack led by Ersan Ilyasova who filled in the starting lineup in Giannis’ absence and had a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds.
For the most part, the Bucks followed the same formula that has led them to an undefeated season so far. Namely, the Bucks shot it well and shot it often from three and limited their opponent in that regard.
The Bucks tied the franchise record for made three-points field goals (again) with 19 on 45 attempts. (They missed their last six attempts in garbage time of the fourth quarter.) The Raptors, meanwhile, were just 9-45 from beyond the arc and shot just 38.2 percent from the field as a team.
Kyle Lowry, Toronto’s starting point guard, had a brutal game going just 3-of-14 from the field and 0-of-9 on three-point attempts. Serge Ibaka had the most points for both teams, notching 30 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field.
Even without Leonard in the lineup, the win was an impressive one for the Bucks who were without their own star player and continued their historically-good start to the season that also includes a 5-0 record at the new Fiserv Forum. (The 1990-91 Bucks hold the franchise record for most consecutive home wins to start a season with 18!)
Now, let’s get into what to take away from the Bucks’ seventh consecutive victory.