Toronto Raptors Roundup: Stories and Highlights From Week Three

Toronto at Milwaukee

Well, going 82-0 is now out of the question.

The Raptors lost their first game of the season against a very good Milwaukee Bucks team 124-109. The big dogs for each team were missing but the Bucks still brought some bite, shooting the lights out from downtown ( 42-percent) and attacking the paint.

Kawhi Leonard rested for the second time this year in back to back situations, while Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out due to concussion protocol. The Raptors were also short O.G. Anunoby (personal) and Fred VanVleet (turf toe).

The Bucks showed why they are undefeated as they stormed out the gate attacking the paint. The Raptors struggled to contain Ersan Ilyasova in the first half as he poured in 14 points almost at will.

In a game where coach Nick Nurse desperately needed someone else to step up, no one did. The bench was woeful in the first half in comparison to Milwaukee (-19) and didn’t do much better in the second. C.J. Miles, Jonas Valanciunas and Delon Wright all had sub-par games.

Raptor three-point shooting was terrible, shooting 9-45 from downtown. Three-point specialists, Miles (1 for 7) and Kyle Lowry (0 for 9) were dreadful, contributing to the Raptors 20-percent from downtown shooting exhibition. Here’s a look at the individual grades for the team.

There were some bright lights for the Raptors, with Serge Ibaka having a very strong night, finishing with 30 points and nine boards. Pascal Siakam had a strong night scoring 22 with nine rebounds.

The Bucks played the better game in the matchup between the two remaining undefeated teams and deserved to win.