Raptors survive another meltdown to bury Bucks

MILWAUKEE — The crowd was loud and hostile.

The visiting Toronto Raptors’ 25-point lead was gone, the players looked frazzled and another Game 6 playoff loss looked likely.

But this time, Toronto found a way to win.

DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Cory Joseph had five points in a 9-0 run in the final two minutes to answer a furious rally by the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Raptors held on for a 92-89 victory on Thursday night to clinch the Eastern Conference quarterfinal in six games.

The Raptors move on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals, starting on Monday.

“We lost our composure a little bit,” coach Dwane Casey said. “But again, we found a way to hold on. That’s what good teams do.”

Toronto snapped a fivegame losing streak in Game 6s, earning a couple of extra days off to rest for the Cavaliers. The Raptors also need to work on finishing off opponents in the second half.

Joseph’s 3 with 1:27 left put Toronto up for good, 85-82. Two foul shots from Joseph with 33.9 seconds extended the lead to seven.

The Raptors could finally breathe easy after DeRozan drained two free throws with 3.1 seconds to play for a three-point lead. Tony Snell’s inbounds pass on the ensuing possession was intercepted by DeRozan.

“We stayed calm. We knew they weren’t going to give up,” DeRozan said.

Jason Terry’s 3 with 3:06 left gave the Bucks an 80-78 lead, completing an unlikely comeback from the 25-point deficit with 5:16 left in the third quarter.

The Raptors looked as if they were on cruise control afterDeMarreCarroll’s3gave them the 71-46 advantage.

Giannis Antetokounmpo spearheaded the secondhalf rally for Milwaukee and finished with 34 points, but the Bucks fell one comeback short.

A 9-of-18 showing from the foul line in the fourth quarter hurt, too.

“We always talk about the little things, and when we look at this it comes down to just free throws,” coach Jason Kidd said.

“We don’t need to overanalyze it. We got to the stripe and we just couldn’t capitalize on that.”

Khris Middleton added 19 points for the Bucks after missing practice this week because of illness.

The furious effort appeared to sap the energy of the young Bucks.

Even Antetokounmpo, a gym rat, looked tired with his hands on hips as he caught his breath during fourth-quarter breaks. He played 47 minutes.

Antetokounmpo finished 13 of 23 from the field and 2 of 6 in the fourth.

A frenetic, towel-waving crowd helped fuel the Bucks.

“You know you’re going to be tired, it’s the playoffs. I just was thinking in my mind ‘Do whatever it takes,’” the All-Star said. “I told my teammates to just fight through it. It was not just me. Everybody was tired.”

Nearly everything was going Toronto’s way from late in the first quarter to midway through the third.

Then the Raptors lost focus. They looked like the teamthathadtheembarrassing 27-point loss in Game 3.

“I think we gave up the lead by not passing the ball, not moving the ball as much,” guard Kyle Lowry said. “But you live and you learn. On to the next one. We’re ready.”