Valanciunas sparks late Raptors charge
MILWAUKEE — Banished to the bench with two fouls less than 90 seconds into the game, Jonas Valanciunas provided little help in the first half for the Toronto Raptors.
He sure made up for it in the third quarter. Valanciunas scored all of his 20 points in the decisive third quarter and Toronto beat the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time this week, 129-110 on Friday night.
“He was a beast down there, man,” Milwaukee centre John Henson said.
Toronto outscored Milwaukee 43-19 in the third quarter to win its fourth consecutive game, including a 131-127 overtime victory over the Bucks on Monday. The Raptors have won 10 of 12.
“He didn’t get off to a good start, but starting the second half he was masterful how he was getting position, using his size and strength in the paint and just doing a good job of rebounding the ball,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said of his seven-foot centre.
Valanciunas picked up two fouls in the first 86 seconds of the game and was held scoreless without taking a shot in just five minutes during the first half. He played the entire third quarter, going 8-of-9 and grabbing nine of his 13 rebounds, as the Raptors extended a two-point halftime lead to 104-78.
“It happens, you know, a quick two fouls,” he said. “I don’t look for special motivation, I’m always motivated to play hard. That’s what I did in the third quarter.”
Despite sitting most of the first half, he had little trouble finding his rhythm to open the third quarter.
“You’ve got to stay ready for 48 minutes,” he said. “When you’re a pro, you can’t relax and you can’t look at what had happened. You have to look at where you can get an advantage and where you can do some damage. That’s what I was thinking about.”
Toronto made 17 of 25 shots in the quarter and outrebounded the Bucks, 18-2. The Raptors outscored Milwaukee 27-9 in the final six minutes of the quarter.