3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ thrilling 130-122 win over the Raptors

Following a win against the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks welcomed the Toronto Raptors to town on the second night of a back-to-back.

As is tradition, there were bound to be some fireworks between these two teams. That certainly came true as these two rivals duked it out in what was a nail-biter from beginning to end. There was some added flare to this game due to a brief skirmish in the fourth quarter, which resulted in Brook Lopez’s first career ejection. Even without Lopez, who put together a great performance to that point, the Bucks kept their composure and pulled out a 130-122 win on their home floor. The Bucks will now have a lengthy break before they take the floor again, but before then, here are the three biggest takeaways from Tuesday night’s game.

Grayson Allen and pre-ejection Brook Lopez fueled a third-quarter comeback in the Milwaukee Bucks’ win over the Raptors

At halftime, the Bucks trailed the Raptors 74-67 after letting a 13-point lead slip. The Bucks were in need of a huge third quarter to get back into it, and Grayson Allen and Brook Lopez undoubtedly served as momentum shifters.

After scoring just four points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first two quarters, Lopez came to life in the third period. The big man scored 15 points, which led all scorers, on 6-of-7 shooting. Lopez shot a stellar 3-of-3 from deep in that timeframe, which tied as many 3-pointers as the Raptors hit as a team. Not only was Lopez sensational offensively, but he also had a big blocked shot at the hoop to give the Bucks a spark on the defensive end.

Offensively, Allen was right behind Lopez with 14 points in the period. Like the big man, Allen did most of his damage from deep, where he knocked in three of four triples. Allen’s lone 2-pointer of the period was a tough acrobatic at the rim over OG Anunoby to pull the Bucks within a point. His aggressiveness with the basketball earned him three free throw attempts, all of which he knocked down. He also had a steal on the defensive end to give the Bucks some momentum on that end.

After 12 minutes, the Bucks had outscored the Raptors 38-23 and took a 105-97 lead to the final quarter. Lopez and Allen accounted for 29 of those 38 points as they truly gave the Bucks a major spark to turn things around in the third. Allen went on to finish with 25 points, while Lopez tallied 19 before his ejection in the fourth quarter.