It was an awful game by basketball standards, as the Milwaukee Bucks lost at the Toronto Raptors 118-112 on Sunday. Exciting, but awful basketball.
The two teams shot under 40 percent from the field, combined for 37 turnovers and superstars were on the bench, fouled out in overtime.
The Bucks looked unstoppable in Games 1 and 2. Game 3 was a different story.
Here are some things (in no particular order):
• Thank god the Bucks traded away a first- and second-round draft pick for George Hill. Of course, they had to sacrifice NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova in the deal. The 33-year-old Hill has carried Milwaukee on both ends of the court for much of the playoffs.
• Speaking of Dellavedova, he played major minutes in 2017, when the Bucks were up 2-1 against the Raptors in the playoffs, before Norman Powell got inserted into the starting lineup, and Toronto never lost again.
• Powell on Sunday: 7-for-13 from the field, 3 of 5 from downtown, 19 points, four rebounds, three assists.
• Brook Lopez needs to have the, “I got this,” attitude for an entire game. He doesn’t have to post up and he looks awkward trying to do Giannis Antetokoummpo impressions, but the results are not terrible.
• Speaking of Antetokounmpo, it would be nice if the Bucks ran some plays involving him — or, at least, just ran in circles around him, when he had the ball. They did some initial ball screens with him to get a switch on defense, but never did they run a pick-and-roll to get him going toward the basket without the ball — and so he doesn’t draw a charge. It was always, get the switch and, “Go to work Giannis, we’ll stand out here.” Sure that works, but the Bucks shot 14-for-44 from deep and had 20 turnovers — eight by Antetokounmpo.
• Antetokounmpo fouled out with 4:24 left in the second overtime. He was 1-for-8 from the field from the third quarter on. He had one field goal in the third quarter — 1-for-5 in the fourth. He didn’t shoot in the 36 seconds of the second overtime. The block he was called for was questionable. Could have been a charge.
• The 24-year-old Antetokounmpo did have 23 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks.
• Eric Bledsoe, the one guy Milwaukee decided to lock up for 4 years, $70 million, needs to stop shooting — and turning it over. If he could drive to the basket with some control, then decide to find an open teammate — again, without turning it over — it would be beneficial for Milwaukee. He had five turnovers.
• Bucks starters were 19-for-69 from the field. Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and Nikola Mirotic each had three field goals.
• Kawhi Leonard played most of the game hurt — and guarding Antetokounmpo. Early in the game, he scored a layup and immediately began favoring his left knee. Later, on the bench, he had a device wrapped around it — either to keep it cool or warm.
• Leonard all but ended the Bucks with his only two baskets in overtime — two breakaway dunks, after getting steals, in the second OT. After the first dunk, it was evident his knee was bothering him, as he hobbled to the sidelines immediately afterward, on a Bucks timeout.
• Leonard shot kind of awful again — 11-for-25 from the field. He’s now 31-for-69 (46 percent) in the series — averaging 32.7 points on 23 shots. He is 32-for-33 from the line, though.
• The Bucks would often pass up layup attempts to kick it out, or pass up open jumpers for running-backward, fallaway 3-pointers.
• At one point, TNT announcer Chris Webber criticized the offense, after Ersan Ilyasova, who played just 13 minutes, jumped back to shoot an off-balance 3 in the corner when he had an easy baseline jumper three feet inside the line. The result was an awkward miss.
• Later, Ilyasova missed a similar baseline jumper — the same one he passed up, so maybe he knew what he was doing. That miss in the shooting chart is described as “20-foot jump bank shot.” Mind you, it was a baseline jumper. He hit the back of the backboard. The back of it.
• Pascal Siakam was fierce underneath, scoring 25 on 9-for-18 shooting, while Marc Gasol and Kyle Lowry weren’t terrible — like all the Bucks starters.
• Toronto did overcome a 1-for-11 night from Fred VanVleet, who was counted on down the stretch after both Lowry and Powell fouled out. Danny Green was also 1-for-9 from the field, 1 of 6 from deep. He shot 45.5 percent from 3 this regular season.
