DeMar DeRozan scores 27 points, leads Raptors to third straight win at home

TORONTO – DeMar DeRozan refuses to shy away from the basket and it’s paying off.

DeRozan had game-high 27 points while going 11 for 12 from the free-throw line as the Toronto Raptors beat the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 90-83 on Friday to stretch their home win streak to a season-high three games.

“Just being aggressive,” said DeRozan, who is averaging 23.6 points per game during the Raptors run. “I like getting to the free throw line, take advantage of that, getting in the paint, if I got a shot, take it, if not try to get my teammates involved — feed off of them. Mainly, just being aggressive.”

With the Raptors trailing 13-4 to the Milwaukee Bucks early, and sensing his team needed a shakeup, coach Dwane Casey called a timeout 4:40 into the first quarter. Following the timeout, Patrick Patterson and Cory Joseph entered the game and Toronto would go on a 45-18 run the rest of the half, paving the way for a victory.

“Just trying to give us some energy,” Casey said of the early substitution. “I thought we were lethargic, kind of running in mud a little bit. I thought those two guys came in, jump-started us (and) got us going.”

Luis Scola added 12 points and eight rebounds while Kyle Lowry had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Raptors (15-9) improved to 3-2 on their current six-game home stand and 8-3 versus the Eastern Conference this season. Joseph chipped in 13 points off the bench.

Khris Middleton paced the Bucks with 26 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 15 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee (9-15), which has now lost nine straight on the road.

“I think we’re just hesitant right now on if we want to shoot the ball, if we want to pass the ball, or if we want to drive the ball and we’ve got to be better at that,” said Bucks coach Jason Kidd. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting these guys to play basketball, play the game, and understand that if it’s not a shot, you’re getting off the ball, and we were just holding it a little bit in that first half.”

Milwaukee threatened in the second half, pulling to within 10 in the third quarter after outscoring Toronto 29-21. Middleton led the way with nine points in the period as Milwaukee shot 63 per cent from the field.

The Bucks cut the Raptors lead to four using an 8-2 run midway through the fourth, but that’s as close as the visitors would get.

“Every NBA team, I don’t care who it is, is going to make a run,” said Casey. “They made their run, I thought we withstood it. In no way, shape, fashion or form did I think it was going to be a 20-point game.”

Toronto led 49-31 at the break with DeRozan leading the way with 16 points. The Raptors guard had six straight points for Toronto at one point stretching the lead to 14.

Joseph, who added seven first-half points off the bench, hit a last-second jumper pushing Toronto’s lead to 18.

Toronto scored nine points off 10 Milwaukee turnovers in the first half while holding the Bucks to 28.6 per cent shooting. The Bucks shot just 4 for 20 in the second quarter.

Notes: Former Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez missed his eighth game due to a right ankle injury. Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey was in attendance courtside. Toronto concludes its six-game home stand on Sunday when they play host to the Philadelphia 76ers.