Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Associated Press
TORONTO
Kyle Lowry scored 25 points, Kawhi Leonard had 19 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 120-102 on Tuesday night to even the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.
Serge Ibaka had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who improved to 7-2 at home this postseason. Reserve Norm Powell scored 18 points, and Marc Gasol had 17.
The home team has won all four games in the series so far. Game 5 is Thursday night in Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded Bucks. Khris Middleton scored 30 points.
Milwaukee lost its second straight following a six-game winning streak. It dropped consecutive games just once during the regular season, at Utah on March 2 and at Phoenix on March 4.
Toronto’s Fred VanVleet, who missed 16 of 20 shot attempts through the first three games of the series, went 5 for 6 from the field in Game 4. He made each of his three 3-point tries and finished with 13 points.
Ahead 94-81 to start the fourth, the Raptors extended their lead with a 10-3 spurt, including seven points from VanVleet. Powell’s fast-break layup with 8:35 left put Toronto up 104-84.
Antetokounmpo shot 5 for 8 in the opening frame, matching the number of made baskets he had during Milwaukee’s double-overtime loss in Game 3. However, the Bucks star went 4 for 9 the rest of the way.
Leonard missed three of his four attempts in the first but Lowry scored 12 points for the Raptors, who rallied from an early seven-point deficit to lead 32-31 after one.
After scoring the final four points of the first quarter, the Raptors widened their lead with a 9-0 run to begin the second. Ibaka’s dunk with 9:56 to go gave Toronto a 41-31 lead.