Powell leads Raptors to 110-96 win over skidding Bucks
MILWAUKEE - Norman Powell scored 29 points, Pascal Siakam had 27 and the Toronto Raptors beat Milwaukee 110-96 on Thursday night to hand the Bucks their fifth consecutive loss.
Powell matched a season high in scoring while shooting 9 of 12 overall, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Fred VanVleet added 17 points for the Raptors, who pulled ahead for good late in the first quarter.
The Bucks last dropped five straight games from Jan. 25 to Feb. 3 in 2017. This entire skid has come without guard Jrue Holiday, who has missed six consecutive games due to health and safety protocols.
RELATED: Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app
The Raptors weren’t at full strength for this one either and still defeated the Bucks for the second time in three nights.
The Raptors beat the Bucks 124-113 on Tuesday despite losing Kyle Lowry to a sore left ankle early in the third quarter. Lowry didn’t play at all Thursday, though the Raptors said it was due to a sprained left thumb rather than his sore ankle.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists before fouling out with 1:19 remaining. Shortly before the game, Antetokounmpo was named an All-Star starter for the fifth consecutive season.
Milwaukee's Donte DiVincenzo had 14 points, Khris Middleton 13, Brook Lopez 12 and Bryn Forbes 11.
After the game went back and forth for the first 10 minutes, the Raptors went on a 21-4 run to pull ahead for good.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android
Powell sank a pair of 3-pointers to begin the spurt as Toronto scored the final eight points of the first quarter. Powell had 15 points in the first quarter alone.
Toronto then scored 13 of the first 17 points in the second quarter. DeAndre’ Bembry capped the outburst with a 3-pointer that put Toronto ahead 46-30.
The Raptors held Milwaukee to 15 second-quarter points, the Bucks’ lowest total in any quarter this season.
Milwaukee trailed by 23 during the third quarter. The Bucks got the margin down to 10 on a number of occasions but couldn't get any closer.
Tip-ins
Raptors: Toronto won convincingly despite collecting just two offensive rebounds. ... Bembry made his first start of the season and had five points and four assists in 38 minutes. Aron Baynes, who had started the first 24 games in which he’d played this season, came off the bench for a second straight time.
Bucks: Bobby Portis' only points of the night came on a basket in the game's final second. Portis had scored at least 15 points in each of his last three games.
Crowd
The Bucks played in front of 500 spectators — invited guests and family members of players — as they gradually work their way up to playing in front of 10% capacity at Fiserv Forum. They had 250 spectators Tuesday and will have 750 invited guests for Friday’s game with Oklahoma City. The Bucks will welcome the general public to a home game for the first time Sunday when they allow about 1,800 spectators for a game with Sacramento.
Next
Raptors: At Minnesota on Friday. This will be the Raptors’ third straight road contest, and ninth in their last 10 games.
Bucks: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday in their third of eight straight home games. The Bucks lost 114-109 at Oklahoma City on Sunday.