Bucks Zone

What we learned from the Milwaukee Bucks' dominant win over the Toronto Raptors

Damian Lillard and Malik Beasley were hot from outside against the Raptors.

Jonas Panerio

© Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
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The Milwaukee Bucks got some measure of revenge against a Toronto squad that blitzed them a few weeks ago, this time authoring a 128-112 win over the Raptors on Wednesday night at the Scotiabank Arena. Here are a couple of key takeaways from the Bucks’ dominant win.

Dame came to play

With two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined due to a calf issue, the stage was set for Damian Lillard to take over the Bucks’ offense. He certainly did that as he finished with 37 points and 13 assists to power Milwaukee to their second win in a row.

After the game, Lillard acknowledged he was aware of Giannis’ situation and knew he had to be more aggressive this time around.

“The situation was right for it,” Lillard said. “With Giannis not playing, I knew I would have more responsibility, I knew I would have to be more aggressive and kind of assert myself from a playmaking and scoring standpoint.”

The last time these two Eastern Conference rivals met, the Raptors pummelled the Bucks, 130-111. On Wednesday night, Dame wanted to do his part to set the tone early. The Bucks led 36-21 after the first and never looked back, leading by as much as 33 points.

“Last time we came here, they kind of blitzed us to start the game, so I wanted to, from the tip, I wanted to assert myself in that way and just dive right into the game instead of waiting. I was able to get it going,” Lillard added.

Malik Beasley gets going

Lillard’s backcourt partner Malik Beasley also got it going from long range, connecting on eight three-pointers to finish with 30 points. Beasley explained that he took advantage of the Raptors’ game plan to deny them paint points, in essence leaving him open beyond the arc.

“Certain teams I play good against, and that’s because those teams usually load up in the paint,” Beasley said. “They don’t want paint points, so you know, we have guys like Dame and (Pat Connaughton) cutting or making the right pass, so I had a lot of open shots tonight, and I knocked ‘em down.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks blow out the Toronto Raptors

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO