Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 108-97 win over Toronto Raptors

Exorcising demons

The effects of last year’s playoff collapse and the defeat that was ultimately sealed isn’t gone just yet, but Tuesday night’s win in Scotiabank Arena certainly made for real progress on that front.

If the Bucks are to succeed this year, they’ll almost certainly have to go through Toronto and deal with many of same the pressures that saw them come unstuck a year ago, whether that’s insanely red hot bouts of three-point shooting, outstanding defense, or even the antics of Drake riling up one of the NBA’s most passionate crowds from courtside.

There were sampling of all of that again in effect as Milwaukee visited the scene of the crime for the first time since the Conference Finals, and throughout the first half it appeared as if this team was going to succumb to defeat to the Raptors in the same way.

In the second half, though, the Bucks again proved what everyone watching the team has come to believe over the past few months. Put simply, they are significantly better than they were a year ago.

The fact that they faced the kind of test that brought them down a year ago, and passed it, is a major feather in the cap for Milwaukee’s mental strength and fortitude too. This was a game when both sides recognised a win could have genuine value in a psychological sense moving forward. With both teams putting in playoff-esque performances, this time it was the Bucks who prevailed.