The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Raptors even series
DeMar DeRozan reverted back to his playmaking form. The Toronto Raptors reasserted themselves on defense.
They’re headed back to Canada after winning a bruiser of a first-round playoff game on April 22 over the Milwaukee Bucks.
DeRozan scored 33 points, and Kyle Lowry had 14 of his 18 points in the second half of Toronto’s 87-76 victory to tie the Eastern Conference series at two games apiece.
The Raptors turned up their intensity before a hostile road crowd after getting embarrassed in a 27-point loss to Milwaukee in Game 3. They forced 21 turnovers.
“I’ve always said we play better with our backs against the wall,” coach Dwane Casey said. “It’s a tough way to live, but I love our team’s resilience and personality.”
Toronto reclaimed homecourt advantage in the bestof-seven series. Game 5 is Monday at the Air Canada Centre.
Tony Snell led Milwaukee with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, both playoff career highs.
His 3 with 3:14 left got the Bucks within seven. Lowry answered with a bucket before setting up another basket with a drive-and-dish to center Jonas Valanciunas for a layup in traffic.
While Toronto’s star guards produced in the clutch, the defense threw up roadblocks after the Bucks ran roughshod all over the court on Thursday night.
Milwaukee shot 37 percent overall in Game 4, but 31 percent (13 of 42) in the second half.
“Our tempo was extremely slow,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Give (Toronto) credit, they slowed us down.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting, while also committing seven turnovers. Toronto’s P.J. Tucker helped contain the Bucks’ All-Star with physical play in the post in the fourth quarter.
“We were just trying to send as many bodies to him as we possibly could,” Casey said.
Hawks soar
Paul Millsap scored 29 points, Dennis Schroder had 27 and the Atlanta Hawks delivered an early knockout blow at home against Washington, cruising to a 116-98 victory that sliced the Wizards’ lead to 2-1 in the opening-round playoff series.
After two tight losses in Washington exposed some bad blood between the teams, Atlanta returned home and built a 25-point lead by late in the first quarter.
The Hawks were never seriously challenged by the Wizards, who were essentially a one-man team. John Wall kept up his dazzling play in the series, scoring 29 points, but the point guard got no help from his teammates.
The other Washington starters combined to score 30 points on 14-of-45 shooting.
Millsap also had 14 rebounds, while rookie Taurean Prince chipped in with 16 points.
Game 4 is Monday night in Atlanta.
The Hawks came out intent on moving the ball, getting open looks and cutting down on the turnovers that plagued them in the first two contests.
Talk about following the game plan.
Atlanta pushed out to a double-digit lead before the game was 3 minutes old and stretched the margin to 3813 with just under a minute to go in the opening quarter on Schroder’s 3-pointer.
Wall did everything he could to spark the Wizards. He posed along the baseline after a thunderous dunk, which might have had more effect if the Wizards weren’t losing by 23 at the time. He also darted through the lane against a collapsing defense to bank in an improbable shot, drawing gasps from the Atlanta crowd.
Wall made all but one shot and scored 21 points in the first half, but the Wizards trailed 64-46 heading to the locker room. The other four Washington starters had just 18 points.
Beal, in particular, had a miserable night after averaging 26.5 points in the first two games. He was held to 12 points on 6-of-20 shooting.