Raptors get signature win thanks to undisputed best starting lineup

TORONTO – Not all wins are created equal.

And in the case of the Toronto Raptors’ 117-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday evening, that certainly appeared to be the case.

“It’s a good win, on the back end of a back to back,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “Again, it’s just wanting to see some progress with this group and figure some things out. I think the thing we figured out tonight was we didn’t have our best juices flowing, just no other way to say it than that, but it’s a long game and you hang in there and you figure out a way to get ‘em flowing.

“Then you start playing really good defensively. Again, it’s a learning thing and continue to make progress with this team.”

Led by another brilliant performance from Pascal Siakam, who has looked more like his old All-NBA self in his last four games, the Raptors managed to pull off a come-from-behind victory Wednesday after a sluggish first half on the second night of a back-to-back against a good Bucks team.

For the third straight game, Nurse opted to go with a starting five of Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Siakam, Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby.

Granted, three games isn’t much of a sample size, but considering how this season has gone for the Raptors, three contests in a row with the same starting five may as well be a trend.

In the past, Nurse has alluded to a more fluid, shuffled starting lineup according to the opponent, but considering that this smaller five-man unit – that came into Wednesday’s action a plus-10 in 66 minutes played together – was one that probably features the team’s five best players outright, it makes sense that Nurse would like to keep rolling with this group.

And as it turns out, it was the right decision.

This starting group was excellent yet again, combining for 102 points on 48.6 per cent shooting with Siakam leading the way with 33 points, five rebounds and six assists on 13-for-23 shooting.

However, no matter how brilliant the starters may play offensively, it means nothing if the team is unable to get stops and at least some production from its second unit.

Those two aspects of the game nearly sunk the Raptors on Wednesday, but thanks to some second-half adjustments, Toronto was able to walk away with a big win, extending their winning streak to four and improving their record to 18-17 on the season, the first time they’ve been above .500 since Nov. 11.

As well, the win moved the Raptors to within two games back of fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks were without their best player, and former two-time MVP, in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was forced to miss the game with a non-COVID illness, but that doesn’t diminish the accomplishment the Raptors managed to achieve.

On the second night of a back-to-back and facing a very good Bucks team that are fighting for the top spot in the East – even without Antetokounmpo – this game had “expected loss” written all over it for the Raptors, and they simply didn’t allow that to happen, even if things didn’t start the way they wanted.

The Raptors allowed the Bucks to shoot 61.4 per cent from the field and go 13-for-21 from deep in the first half as they hung 77 points on the Raptors in the opening 24 minutes. To make matters worse, Toronto’s bench got severely outscored, 29-7, as only Chris Boucher (three points) and Justin Champagnie (four) scored among the Raptors reserves in the opening half.

Thankfully for the Raptors, they were nearly as hot as the Bucks were in the first half as they put up 68 points of their own, shooting 54.3 per cent from the field. And that strong first-half play was necessary for Toronto as it – as seen previously before this seen – turned things around completely in the second half.

Despite taking that comfortable 77-68 lead at the half, the Bucks squandered their big cushion as the Raptors went on a 7-0 run about five minutes into the third quarter to tie the game up at 85-85 that saw Siakam score five points alone during this spurt. A few minutes later, Siakam made a nice spin move along the base line and laid the ball up and in to give Toronto a lead, 87-86.

Toronto would grow this advantage afterwards to take a 92-88 lead into the fourth quarter as Siakam went off for 10 points in the frame.

More importantly, unlike the first half, the Raptors played a strong defensive quarter, holding the Bucks to just 11 points and 3-of-22 shooting from the floor.

And with this continued defensive momentum that kept up in the fourth quarter, along with continued strong play from Siakam, the Raptors were able to put the game to bed, even as things got a little dicey near the end.

“It was about as two different results defensively in a game that you can have, said Nurse. “I think the first half, when you start not doing some things well and most of it just usually stems from a readiness standpoint.

“We just weren’t running back hard enough to get set, weren’t quite getting out to shooters, we were kinda there, but not quite the way the game plan was set up. [We] just weren’t moving and active enough. There was plays right in front of us and we were kinda right there and could react very well and then it all changed. We got into them, we started getting some deflections, started swarming and flying, we started standing in more on their drives, rebounding well. We just started doing everything better and I think it just came down to some readiness and some energy that we found.”

More encouragingly, in the second half, the Raptors’ bench managed to outscore Milwaukee’s 8-5 and, most importantly, played some strong minutes on the defensive end, bringing lots of energy, with Precious Achiuwa’s six-point, five-rebound fourth quarter – that even saw him drill a three – standing out in particular.

“I thought his effort was great and I think that’s really all we’re asking,” said Nurse. “I think he’s going to make effective plays, he’s so big and athletic, if he’s amped up and playing hard, he’s going to impact the game.

“He was doing a little bit of everything and he throws in a big three. That was kind of a big momentum three there that kind of got us going, too.”

Ideally, you’d like the see the Raptors play a complete game, but showing guts on the road in a tough building to play against a very tough team – again, even without Antetokounmpo – on the second night of a back-to-back that saw the team’s All-NBA player look every bit the part, while the team’s starting unit, in general, looked like one of the best in the entire league the club put the clamps down in the second half to set up the win?

It’s hard to be anything but impressed.

Wednesday night’s Raptors victory isn’t like any of the 17 others the Raptors had earned before. This is a team that’s starting to learn what it takes to be successful.

“You learn that it’s a long game and you’re not always going to be at your best,” Nurse said. “You really want to, you gotta learn that this is a defence-first process and did a good job of not over-reacting to that first half.

“I thought we got into the locker room and I actually said, ‘We’re pretty fortunate, it’s a nine-point game, there’s a lot of ball to be played here, I think our offence is fine, we’re going to score.’ It’s just a matter of can we flip it around and start to do some of the things we need to do defensively and we did.”

So, could Wednesday be considered a signature win?

It just might.

More importantly, it was a win, and that seems to be something the Raptors are getting good at doing again.

Raptors get signature win thanks to undisputed best starting lineup
Source: Pinas Ko Mahal