3. November 2nd, 2019
Opponent: Milwaukee Bucks
Final Score: 105-115
Stat line: 36 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, 75 effective-field-goal percentage
This was a tough game for the Raptors. The season was still young and nobody knew at the time that the Milwaukee Bucks were the threat they have proven to be today. Still, this was a battle between two eastern conference powerhouses and Kyle Lowry came to play.
Lowry started off hot, scoring half the teams’ points in the first quarter, however, Milwaukee had all the momentum as they jumped to an early 19-point lead on the defending champs.
With the Raptors slowly losing hope to the motivated Bucks, Lowry continued to fight back against the stingy defense of Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton. He sparked a huge scoring outburst for the team after halftime. scoring 17 points in the third quarter to bring the Raptors to within five points. Unfortunately, they did not take advantage of the momentum and in the end, lost the game by 10 points.
This performance was great for Lowry because of the sheer resilience he showed. Nobody on the Raptors roster looked like they were ready for this matchup. Lowry not only doubled the next highest scorer on the team in points, but he was also the only player with 10 shot attempts to shoot over 37-percent on the team.
The only reason this game was as close as it was is because of that insane 17 points third quarter where Lowry shot 83-percent from the field, which included a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line and 3-of-3 from three-point range.
While a 10-point loss is nothing to write home about, Lowry did end the night with a season-high in points and early on showed off his more aggressive approach to the offense this season compared to the season prior.