Bucks take season series from Raptors

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds despite picking up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter, and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Toronto Raptors 105-92 Thursday night. The Bucks won the season series 3-1 in meetings between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference standings. First-place Milwaukee earned its eighth win in nine games overall while second-place Toronto fell to 1-3 in its past four games.

Khris Middleton, selected a first-time All-Star earlier Thursday, added 18 points, and D.J. Wilson had 16 points for Milwaukee. Eric Bledsoe scored 14, Brook Lopez and Malcolm Brogdon 11 each and George Hill 10 for the Bucks, who won both of their visits to Toronto. Pascal Siakam scored 28 points for the Raptors. Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Serge Ibaka had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell scored 10 points each.

The Bucks, who led by 24 points in the third quarter, took an 11-point lead into the fourth. The Raptors quickly trimmed the deficit to six as Antetokounmpo picked up his fifth personal foul. Lopez put Milwaukee ahead by 13 on a layup with 7:18 left, but Ibaka's jumper cut the margin to six points with 3:50 remaining. However, the Bucks pulled away again.

The Raptors led 25-22 after the first quarter, paced by Ibaka's 10 points. Tony Snell made consecutive 3-pointers early in the second quarter, and the Bucks went on to open a nine-point lead with 6:55 to play in the half.

The Bucks led 56-47 at halftime. Antetokounmpo scored nine points in the second quarter to lead all first-half scorers with 13 points. Middleton scored all seven points in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter on a dunk, a 9-foot jumper and a 25-foot 3-pointer, and Milwaukee led by 16.

Bledsoe's 3-pointer extended the Bucks' lead to 22 points with 6:47 remaining in the third. Wilson's dunk gave Milwaukee a 24-point lead before Toronto countered with a 7-0 run.

Powell hit a 3-pointer with 2:40 left in the third, trimming the gap to 12. The Bucks led 87-76 after three quarters.

--Field Level Media

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