BUCK STOPS HERE: Raptors outlast defending champs to end five-game losing skid

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Well, it’s not like the Raptors weren’t due for a good turn.

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Home court was once again an advantage, at least for a night, as the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks opted to rest two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks got a win in Charlotte on an Antetokoumpo buzzer-beating drive Wednesday night but made the decision to rest their franchise player on the back end of a back-to-back.

It might be a good decision in the long run, but in the short term, it cost the Bucks as Jrue Holiday, as determined as he appeared, could not win this one by himself.

Holiday gave it his best shot, finishing with 26 points and continually dragging the Bucks back from large deficits just when it appeared the Raptors would pull away.

Eventually, though, with Fred VanVleet matching Holiday in the determination department and getting just enough help from the likes of Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, the Raptors were able to hold on for a 97-93 win on Thursday night.

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VanVleet, who has never been accustomed to losing and clearly isn’t about to start now, wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away.

The Bucks had cut the lead to four with just over three minutes to go when VanVleet drove into the teeth of the Bucks defence and somehow got an underhand scoop shot to role in to put the lead back up to six.

As the Bucks called a timeout, VanVleet, now at centre court, turned to the crowd with both hands up imploring them to help him bring this one home.

The win snapped a five-game losing skid at home.

VanVleet, who played 39 minutes in this one, finished with 29 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Holiday wound up with 26 points, six rebounds and seven boards in a losing cause.

The Raptors, still without OG Anunoby and Khem Birch, did welcome back Gary Trent Jr., and while Trent Jr. didn’t have his usual solid shooting night, he was another threat the Bucks had to account for, opening things up for the likes of VanVleet and Siakam.

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Trent Jr, who missed 13 of the 16 shots he attempted, did have eight rebounds and three assists to aid the cause.

Toronto’s bench also stepped up, outscoring the Bucks subs 21-13, led by seven from Yuta Watanabe including a huge three with just over six minutes to go when the Bucks had just cut the Raptors lead down to three.

Things got extremely tight in the final 15 seconds as Precious Achiuwa somehow managed to foul first Khris Middleton behind the arc and then after Middleton missed the third was flagged for another infraction for making contact with Bobby Portis, even though it appeared VanVleet was in possession of the basketball.

Portis made one and then Achiwa grabbed the rebound on the missed second and was himself fouled.

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Achiuwa missed both but the second one hit the front rim and bounced hard towards centre court where VanVleet pulled it down and was fouled.

VanVleet made both to restore the four-point lead the game would end on.

STILL WAITING

There’s no question the Raptors are champing at the bit to get some of their key injured personnel back on the court. Thursday saw Trent Jr. return after a two-game absence with a bruised calf and his ability to create his own shot was welcomed back with open arms.

Progress on the Anunoby and Birch front has not been so steady.

Head coach Nick Nurse said he has seen Birch’s workload increase but the Raptors centre has yet to take part in practice as the swelling in his right knee remains an issue.

“I think it’s getting better,” Nurse said. “I see him doing more … he’s not in practice or anything, but I see him in the gym and it seems like he’s working fairly hard so I think it’s improving. Hopefully, he’ll be back soon. I don’t have an update other than that.”

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Anunoby’s hip pointer, meanwhile, isn’t progressing as the team had hoped. Thursday night was the eighth game Anunoby has missed so far this season.

HURDLE FOR THE CHAMPS

Defending a championship, even with Antetokounmpo in the fold, was never going to be easy. It just got more difficult, though certainly not impossible for the Milwaukee Bucks with the news that centre Brook Lopez underwent back surgery.

By all accounts, the surgery was a success, if not a bit of a surprise for the Milwaukee fanbase that was hearing the Lopez’s back woes described as “soreness” before it suddenly flipped to requiring surgery.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer explained.

“He basically has been making very, very slow, but little progress from the beginning,” the Bucks head coach said. “I think after just consulting with the doctors, looking at things more, kind of realizing that if no progress is a setback, then that’s a setback. But it was just really a lot of consultation with the doctors and Brook and his group and our group. I feel good about the results, the decision, and the process, and hopefully Brook returns healthy at some point.”

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Budenholzer said the team is not putting a timeline on a return for the anchor of the Bucks defence but a return this season is certainly not out of the question.

“I think the feedback, the conversations and the kind of follow-up after this morning’s (surgery) was very, very positive including expecting him to be able to play and be productive.

“The surgery today has been done on multiple basketball players, other athletes and other sports and return to play has been very, very often successful,” Budenholzer said.

The Bucks recently signed cenre DeMarcus Cousins, who is more than familiar with surgery and rehab and while not the dominant centre he once was, should be able to give the Bucks at the very least a different look and a little more bulk than Bucks starting centre Bobby Portis Jr. provides.

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