The Milwaukee Bucks had to win a game not once, but twice in Toronto Wednesday night. The Bucks beat the Raptors 104-101 in overtime, only after blowing a 21 point lead with under four minutes to play. It was still a 12 point advantage in the final minute but the Raptors completed a furious, full court press rally when Gary Trent Jr. hit a three point shot from the top of the key with 0.8 seconds remaining to force the extra period. Head Coach Mike Budenholzer was pulling his starters in the 4th quarter with a big advantage, welcoming a little rest on the second side of back to back games. But when the Raptors kept coming, the front line players returned to the floor. Neither team made a push in the extra period and with the game tied late, Giannis Antetokounmpo completed his 31st career triple double in dramatic fashion. Driving into the lane with traffic waiting, Antetokounmpo somehow located Grayson Allen in the right corner alone and he nailed the go ahead three point shot with :10 left in overtime. The Bucks got one more stop off a Fred Van Vleet missed three and pulled off the victory.
It was a sloppy game from the start as the Bucks led by the unusual score of 13-12 after the opening period. The two teams combined to shoot 7 for 47 from the floor in the first 12 minutes. Milwaukee had 25 turnovers, many coming during the Toronto rally. The Raptors never found the range, hitting just 30% of their shots and the Bucks chased down just about every rebound, collecting a whopping 73 on the night, Brook Lopez with a season high 19. Without Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton again, the Bucks turned to Giannis for the offense. After scoring just 8 points in the first half, Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, to go with 21 rebounds and 10 assists. Allen finished with 16.
The Bucks (25-13) remain a game behind Boston in the Eastern Conference race, tied for second with Brooklyn which had it’s 12 game winning streak snapped Wednesday night by the Chicago Bulls. Milwaukee returns to Fiserv Forum to host the Charlotte Hornets Friday night.
