The Raptors returned the blowout favor, rocking the Bucks 106-75. In the 31-point trouncing, the Bucks made up more than the 27 points they lost by in the team's first matchup. More importantly, they evened the season series 1-1.
Three Bucks
- Charlie Villanueva. He fit in with the rest of the team by missing both of his three pointers and both of his free throws, but at least was effective from the field, shooting 6-9. He's played quite well three of the past four games.
- Bobby Simmons. Simmons pulled down a team-leading 10 rebounds and didn't turn the ball over in 23 minutes.
- Yi Jianlian. Yi started strongly, but didn't produce much in the final three quarters. January hasn't treated the rookie kindly, but thankfully the month is almost over. He made a shot from the field and didn't miss a free throw or three pointer, unlike any other Buck.
Three Numbers
- 2. Team-leading assists by Mo Williams, Yi Jianlian, Royal Ivey, and Charlie Bell. Bucks starters had five assists combined. Jose Calderon had 12 assists, one more than the Bucks had as a team.
- 12. Number of free throws missed by the Bucks. They made 10-22 (45.4 %) from the line tonight. The Raptors made 22-25 (88.0 %).
- 0. Number of Bucks who had a positive +/- rating. Dan Gadzuric led the way with a -3 in nine minutes.
Three Good
- Some CV, Please. Charlie Villanueva came off the bench ready to play against his former team. He appeared set to score at least half as many points as the 48 he once posted when these teams met. Villanueva was even active on the glass. He had 10 points and six rebounds in the first half in just nine minutes. In a game like this however, even the good is attached to some bad. The Bucks waited almost 10 minutes to bring in Villanueva in the third quarter, despite scoring just nine points in that span. By the time he returned to action, all rhythm was lost. He finished with a team-leading 12 points in 14 minutes.
- Potential Around Bogut. First, Bogut decides to start blocking shots this season, and now he's demanding some double teams? It's been a long while since the Bucks have had a real post scoring presence. And while Bogut didn't exactly set the nets on fire tonight, it's exciting to consider how having a legitimate post presence could transform the offense. Since Bogut has been scoring more like Tim Duncan than himself in the last two weeks, he's drawing more focus from defenses. One of the enjoyable byproducts of this is that he gets to put his very good passing skills to better use. The Bucks had no clue how to make an open three pointer tonight, but once Michael Redd gets over the shock of being open that won't continue.
- Momentary Yi/Bobby ESP. In the first quarter, Yi Jianlian threw down a two-handed slam dunk off a Bobby Simmons' miss. A few minutes later, Simmons rebounded an Yi airball and made an easy layup. The connection fizzled thereafter.
Three Bad
- Ford's Injury. There is a lot of bad to cover, but we'll start with T.J. Ford's truly unfortunate injury, which is keeping him sidelined. He's had both special moments and scary falls in Milwaukee and Toronto. It wouldn't have mattered which jersey he put on tonight. We just needed him on the court tonight to avoid early second quarter and late fourth quarter matchups between Royal Ivey and Darrick Martin.
- Bucks Vote Bosh. Perhaps they didn't realize All-Star voting was over, and were just trying to promote Chris Bosh's candidacy. How else can we explain the Bucks defensively treating him like someone who wasn't a threat, someone who perhaps couldn’t even make a shot. Oh, that’s right. They should've known better though, especially after he scored six points in the first two minutes of the game. The Bucks didn't take his quick start seriously, remaining slow to step out on Bosh's jumpers, and indecisive guarding him in the post. Yi and Bogut couldn't stop him. Neither could Villanueva or Ruffin. And I'm just talking about the first half here. The Bucks have been bitten by opposing team's star players frequently in the last few weeks, so Bosh's 19 first-half points didn't bode well.
- Return Of 11-Point Quarter. Yes, the title correctly implies this has plagued the Bucks more than once. The Bucks went into halftime trailing by just five, but the Raptors racked up 32 points in the third quarter. The Raptors went to Golden St. and tried an 11-point quarter shortly after going for 11 in a Garden meltdown, and neither produced any better results than tonight.