Lowry, Raptors rebound to ties series with Bucks
TORONTO — Three nights after a horrible outing in Game 1, Kyle Lowry more than made up for it in Game 2.
Toronto’s three-time all-star scored 22 points, including the game-clinching shot with nine seconds to play as the Raptors defeated the Bucks, 106100, on Tuesday, sending the bestof-seven National Basketball Association playoff series to Milwaukee tied at one win apiece.
Teammate DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, while Serge Ibaka, playing on a sprained left ankle, added 16 points and seven rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas added 10 points and 10 boards, and Cory Joseph chipped in with 11 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 24 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.
The third-seeded Raptors dropped an ugly 97-83 loss to sixth-seeded Milwaukee in Game 1, and the talk around practice in the days since had been about playing with more ferocity.
Lowry, who scored just four points in Game 1, set a more aggressive pace from the outset. The Raptors shot better, moved the ball better, and led by as many as 13 points. But the troublesome Bucks just kept coming back, and the Toronto went into the fourth quarter in front of a nervous Air Canada Centre crowd of 20,077 with an 84-83 lead.
After thoroughly falling apart in the fourth quarter of Game 1, they were better down the stretch of Game 2, and when P.J. Tucker drilled a three-pointer with 9:12 left to play, it put Toronto up by 12 points.
Milwaukee still had plenty of life when Antetokounmpo scored with 2:46 to play, and the Bucks pulled to within a point.
The Raptors shot 48 per cent on the night, while holding the Bucks to 41 per cent.