Bucks 104, Raptors 77: An overwhelming performance

An energized Milwaukee Bucks team took control early and coasted to a 104-77 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

The Bucks took a 2-1 advantage in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series, with Game 4 scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.

It was one of the sharpest performances by the team this season and came at the right time, after the Raptors evened the series in Game 2 on Tuesday in Toronto.

Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 20 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Middleton was hot in the early going and his Bucks teammates followed.

D'AMATO: Bucks win fight by sticking together

RELATED: No home-court letdown this time

RELATED: Dellavedova adds shooting to gritty personality

"I think we all understand and appreciate Khris," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "We know what he can do. We thought in the first two games he had some great looks that just didn't go down for him.

"We trust him. He lets the game come to him. He's not going to force things if he doesn't have the shot. He moves the ball and he keeps things really simple. I thought he set the tone, but so did Giannis. And the crowd was into it from the beginning,"

Greg Monroe added 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Michael Beasley had 13 points. Substitutes for both teams played in the final 4 to 5 minutes.

Kyle Lowry paced Toronto’s starters with 13 points and DeMar DeRozan went 0 of 8 from the field and finished with eight points.

BOX SCORE: Milwaukee 104, Toronto 77

NOTES: Kidd cuts down center rotation

BUCKS PODCAST: Chance to swing series at home

NBA: Scoreboard | Thursday game recaps

"We just tried to make it tough," Kidd said. "We've got to make him work and I thought we did that on both ends tonight."

The last time DeRozan did not hit a field goal was in a January 2015 game against the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Kidd said he wasn't worried about having a relatively inexperienced lineup in the playoffs.

"I'm a young coach, so I think we all fit," Kidd said. "Thon (Maker) and Malcolm (Brogdon) being two rookies, but we believe they can do the job and we've seen that during the season. When they're on the floor, the guys on the bench support them.

"We try to keep things simple and have fun with it."

Maker had 11 points in 21 minutes while Brogdon had four points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Matthew Dellavedova added 10 points in 28 minutes.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey said his team has to shake off the lopsided defeat.

"We did it from Game 1 to Game 2, so it's possible," Casey said. "We have to make sure we pass the basketball. We went from 24 assists to whatever we had tonight (11).

"We have to sell the guys on the fact that you have to move the basketball. You're not going to dribble around them. You're not going to outrun or outquick them. The ball can beat speed and quickness. That's what we did in Game 2 and that's what we've got to get back to."

Casey said the Bucks did not use a different strategy against DeRozan.

"They blitzed some of his pick-and-rolls, not all of them," Casey said. "I've got to do a better job of finding him openings and spaces so he can vault up and use his scoring ability."

An enthused crowd went crazy as the Bucks sprinted to a 26-10 lead, helped by a hot start from Middleton. He had nine of the team’s first 13 points and scored 11 on 5-of-6 shooting in the quarter.

When Antetokounmpo and Michael Beasley ended the first quarter with back-to-back three-pointers, Milwaukee had a 32-12 lead.

Monroe scored all 12 of his first-half points in the second quarter as the Bucks led by as many as 32 points. A three-pointer by Delon Wright cut the Raptors’ deficit to 57-30 at halftime.

The Bucks did not let up in the third quarter, opening with a shot in the lane from Middleton and a three-pointer by Maker that extended their lead to 62-33.

The only real struggle the Bucks had in the quarter came with Antetokounmpo at the free-throw line, where he went 1 of 6 and was frustrated by his misses.

But it hardly mattered with the Bucks leading by 30 points.

Milwaukee led by 34 points late in the third quarter.

The Bucks opened the fourth quarter with Monroe, Beasley, Middleton, Jason Terry and Dellavedova in the lineup.

Monroe fouled out on a charging call with 8:07 remaining when he ran over Lowry, and the crowd chanted “Moose” as he went to the bench.

A three-point play by Jonas Valanciunas cut Toronto’s deficit to 84-61.

Kidd inserted Snell and Antetokounmpo at that point and Snell scored a layup before Dellavedova drilled a three-pointer, giving Milwaukee an 89-61 advantage.

Backups for both teams played the last few minutes. The Bucks finished hitting 39 of 74 shots (52.7%) and Toronto was 24 of 71 from the field (33.8%) and just 6 of 24 on three-point attempts.

THREE TAKEAWAYS

1. The Bucks took a 27-point halftime lead, and they did it without scoring any fast-break points. They were outscored, 8-0, on the break, but had a 24-10 advantage in points in the paint.

2. Bucks coach Jason Kidd went with Michael Beasley as his first substitute at power forward, replacing Mirza Teletovic. And Beasley rewarded his coach with six points while hitting a pair of three-pointers in 10 first-half minutes. Beasley ended with 13 points in 20 minutes.

3. The crowd was loud and rowdy, just as Bucks guard Jason Terry had predicted it would be after practice on Wednesday. Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers, David Bakhtiari and Martellus Bennett were on hand and got big ovations when they were shown on the scoreboard during the first half.

UP NEXT

What: Game 4 of Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, Toronto Raptors vs. Milwaukee Bucks.

When: 2 p.m. Saturday.

Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Broadcasts: TNT, Fox Sports Wisconsin.

BUCKS-RAPTORS SCHEDULE (All times Central)

Eastern Conference first-round series (best of seven)

Saturday, April 15 - Bucks 97, Raptors 83

Tuesday, April 18 - Raptors 106, Bucks 100 (Series tied at 1-1)

Thursday, April 20 - Bucks 104, Raptors 77 (Bucks lead series, 2-1)

Saturday, April 22 - Game 4 at Milwaukee, 2 p.m. (TNT, FSW)

Monday, April 24 - Game 5 at Toronto, 6 p.m. (NBA TV, FSW)

Thursday, April 27 - Game 6 at Milwaukee, TBD (FSW), if necessary

Saturday, April 29 - Game 7 at Toronto, TBD (TNT, FSW), if necessary