Giannis, Bucks cruising, two wins from trip to Finals
MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo started the game with an emphatic dunk. The next possession, a sprawling block to deny Marc Gasol. The next possession, another dunk. The tone was set. And it never changed. The Eastern Conference doesn’t belong to Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks — yet. But they’re two wins away, after Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 17 rebounds, Ersan Ilyasova came off the bench to add 17 points and the Bucks never trailed on the way to a 125103 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night and a 2-0 lead in the East finals.
“He plays so hard, he lays it all on the line, every time,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It was a great start for us. I think everybody fed off of Giannis and how he started the game.” How he finished, too. Antetokounmpo scored 11 points in the fourth for the Bucks, who wound up with six players in double figures — three of them reserves. Nikola Mirotic scored 15, Malcolm Brogdon had 14, George Hill 13 and Khris Middleton 12.
“We really rely on each other ... especially the bench,” Ilyasova said. “The starting five set the tone.”
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points for Toronto, which gave up the game’s first nine points, never led and trailed by double digits for the final 39 minutes. Kyle Lowry scored 15 and Norman Powell had 14 for the Raptors.
“We didn’t do much well tonight, obviously,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
Game 3 is today in Toronto.
“We get to go back home and protect our home court, like they did these last two games,” Lowry said. “We’ve got a chance to do what we’re supposed to do.”
Milwaukee, an NBA-best 60-22 during the regular season, became the 16th team to start a postseason with at least 10 victories in its first 11 games. Only three teams — the 1989 Los Angeles Lakers, the 2001 Lakers and the 2017 Golden State Warriors — opened the playoffs 11-0.
The Bucks led by as many as 28, before Toronto did just enough chipping away to keep some semblance of hope.
■ BOTTOM LINE: The Raptors have gone 36-16 against Eastern Conference teams. Toronto ranks third in the Eastern Conference with 35.6 defensive rebounds per game, led by Leonard averaging 6.0. The Bucks are 40-12 in conference matchups. Milwaukee is the NBA leader with 40.4 defensive rebounds per game, led by Antetokounmpo averaging 10.3.
■ TOP PERFORMERS: Leonard is scoring 26.6 points per game and averaging 7.3 rebounds for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam has averaged 18.3 points and totaled 5.8 rebounds while shooting 43.0 percent over the last 10 games for Toronto.
Antetokounmpo has averaged 27.7 points and 12.5 rebounds for the Bucks. Khris Middleton has averaged 18.1 points and added 6.1 rebounds while shooting 44.4 percent over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
■ DURING THE PLAYOFFS: Bucks: Averaging 116.8 points, 52.8 rebounds, 25.3 assists, 6.3 steals and 6.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.5 points on 39.9 percent shooting.
Raptors: Averaging 103.3 points, 42.0 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 98.9 points on 41.6 percent shooting.