Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from Game 2 loss vs. Milwaukee Bucks
By Ananth Para
After nearly winning Game 1, the Toronto Raptors came unprepared for Game 2 and lost 125-103 in a contest that was over before halftime.
After seeing the opportunity to steal home-court advantage slip away from their fingers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, you would imagine that the veteran-heavy Toronto Raptors would come out firing on cylinders against the Milwaukee Bucks in order to put the No. 1 seed on their heels.
They did, for all of 30 seconds.
Within the first four minutes of Game 2, it was clear that the Raptors did not come out with the same intensity that fueled their double-digit leads throughout the series opener.
After settling for contested jump shots and multiple accounts of sloppy turnovers, the Toronto Raptors were all but handing the Bucks uncontested points in the paint and transition 3s throughout the duration of the first half.
After cutting a 25-point deficit to 13 on the foundation of strong interior defense and perimeter rotations, the Toronto Raptors settled for predictable Kawhi Leonard isolations to the extent that the game never felt out of the Bucks’ grasp.
Leonard led all scorers with 31 points and had eight rebounds and two assists on 10-of-18 shooting, with floor general Kyle Lowry their second-leading scorer with an inefficient 15 (4-of-13).
With the series hanging in the balance, the Toronto Raptors are forced to make some changes going into Game 3.