DeRozan bounces back, Raptors dominate defensively to tie up series with Bucks

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DeMar DeRozan promised a bounce-back performance Saturday, and he delivered.

Two days after he went without a field goal in his team's humiliating 27-point Game 3 loss, DeRozan answered with a 33-point performance Saturday to lead the Toronto Raptors to an 87-76 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, tying up their first-round playoff series 2-2.

Kyle Lowry contributed 18 points – 14 of them in the second half. The Raps dictated the pace in a defensive slugfest that saw the Bucks turn the ball over 21 times, and shoot just 37 per cent. Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting.

"Anybody who knows me knows I'm never too high and I'm never too low, no matter how bad things or no matter how great things get," said DeRozan after the game. "I keep a level head and I understand bad things are going to come, and I accept it, just like I accept the great times. I knew lightning don't strike twice in the same place."

Bucks fans were tailgating outside Milwaukee's BMO Harris Bradley Center Saturday afternoon as a live band played. One fan sauntered through the crowd with a sign that read "Canadian Bacon = Ham." Positive vibes were still flowing after Thursday's big win.

Inside the arena, in their usual burn, they played Barney music as the Raptors' starting lineup was announced and danced the purple dinosaur across the video board. Pockets of Raptors fans spotted the crowd wearing jerseys or Raptors black and red plaid, breaking up the sea of Milwaukee fans waving white Fear the Deer rally towels.

Toronto chose to mix up its starters in desperate times, going with Lowry, DeRozan, and DeMarre Carroll, shifting Serge Ibaka to centre, and inserting Norman Powell to start on the hot-shooting Khris Middleton. Regular starting centre Jonas Valanciunas would come off the bench in order to guard troublesome lefty centre Greg Monroe once he entered the game.

"I knew what I was trying to do, I was trying to set the tone early that it was going to be a physical game for him," said Powell. "He wasn't going to get easy runs or easy cuts. I'm going to be there, I'm bumping him."

Both teams shot poorly to start the game and the score remained close. The Bucks still had some big moments that riled up the crowd as it had on Tuesday – Antetokounmpo intercepting passes or swatting away what looked like an easy Lowry layup. But the Greek Freak missed his first five field-goal attempts on what would be a so-so afternoon for the Bucks star.

Antetokounmpo began to heat up a little midway through the second, swatting a big pass out of Carroll's hands, nailing a couple of jumpers and one of his acrobatic wonder-feats. The Freak went end to end and delivered a vicious jam over DeRozan, the phenom's face contorting into a menacing snarl. It gave Milwaukee a seven-point lead and whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Just then, the video board showed a movie clip from Jurassic World, subbing Antetokounmpo's face onto that of the raptor trainer, soothing and quieting aggressive dinosaurs.

But DeRozan, as promised, was bouncing back big – taking jumpers, going coast to coast past Tony Snell, barrelling right at defenders and finishing at the rim. The Toronto all-star led all players with 21 points by halftime, to Antetokounmpo's 12, and the game was tied 41-41.

In the second half, Ibaka was getting an astonishing number of open shots, but couldn't get them to fall. To antagonize the Raptors, a blow-up Bucks mascot ate an inflatable Raptor during a timeout. Still, the momentum was starting to swing in Toronto's favour.

"Give Toronto credit – they slowed us down," said Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd. "They found a way to slow us down and our tempo really slowed in the second half and came to a halt."

Lowry, who had been 2-of-7 in the first half, was getting free – driving, dishing passes, hitting three-point shots and drawing fouls. Toronto went on a 7-0 run and held Milwaukee to a 17-point third quarter. Toronto took a six-point lead into the final quarter and drove the game home.

Snell was Milwaukee's top scorer with 19, while Monroe was held to 14 points and nine boards.

For Toronto, Powell contributed 12 points in the 34 minutes he was given, along with four assists. Ibaka had ten points, eight boards and blocked three shots, but made just four of his 16 field goal attempts.

"I've always said we play better with our backs against the wall. It's a tough way to live but I love our team's resilient personality," said Toronto coach Dwane Casey. "This is an up and down league and one day you're the statue and the next day you're the pigeon."

The Bucks, who are looking to win their first playoff series since 2001, come back to Toronto where Game 5 will take place on Monday. Game 6 will be played Thursday in Milwaukee.