To say the Toronto Raptors had a bad night in Milwaukee on Thursday would be a vast understatement.While losing 104-77 to the Bucks in Game 3 of the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series, the Raptors were thoroughly outclassed in every aspect of the game.By the end of the first quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks had built up a 32-12 lead and never let Toronto have any hopes for a comeback.Things were so bad that, after the game, Raptors coach Dwane Casey was still searching for answers. Casey told ESPN.com that the Bucks prevented the Raptors from doing anything they had planned to do on Thursday night:"They ambushed us," Casey said. "There was no aspect of our game that we executed whatsoever."Indeed, the struggles were real for the Raptors, who were led in scoring by Kyle Lowry and Delon Wright, both of whom turned in paltry 13-point efforts. The biggest factor in Milwaukee's win (which gives the Bucks a 2-1 series lead) was shutting down All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan.DeRozan had an awful night from the floor, missing all eight of his shot attempts. He did finish the game with eight points, thanks to an 8-for-8 night from the free-throw line, but that did little to stop fans on social media from bashing the Toronto star:
Milwaukee star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 points and also had eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals to lead the Bucks to the impressive home victory.
Milwaukee guard Khris Middleton, who scored a game high 20 points, explained to ESPN that the Bucks knew they had to limit Lowry and DeRozan in order to have a chance to take the series lead heading into Game 4:
"We were just trying to make them work. Forcing DeRozan and Lowry into tough shots and try to make everybody else make plays," Middleton said.
Though Lowry led the Raptors in scoring, he too struggled from the field, hitting only four of his 10 shot attempts. After combining for 45 points in a Game 2 victory, DeRozan and Lowry only had 21 points between them on Thursday.
The Raptors face a tough Game 4 assignment in Milwaukee on Saturday night, as they'll try to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole heading back to Toronto for Game 5.
If DeRozan and Lowry struggle like they did on Thursday, though, it's safe to say fans on social media are running out of patience with the All-Star guards and will have even more to say if Toronto loses Game 4.