The Toronto Raptors, currently first in the Eastern Conference, suffered their second straight loss on Sunday, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 99-104 at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto's starting point-guard Kyle Lowry continued his string of disappointing performances and ended the game with zero points.

Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 19 points, 19 rebounds and six assists. Brook Lopez scored 19 points as well, including five out of eight three-point attempts. Malcolm Brogdon put down 18 points including two consecutive three-pointers within 26 seconds at the end of the game.

Toronto's Serge Ibaka scored the court's highest 22 points but only made eight of 21 shots, more than Kawhi Leonard who dropped 20 points with 18 attempts. Pascal Siakam was the team's only player with a field goal (FG) rate higher than 50 percent (7/12) and he put down 17 points. Lowry missed all five shots (all were three-pointers).

Neither team started the game paying much attention to defense, which gave the Bucks an advantage as they found their targets from the three-point line early in the first quarter. Lopez benefited the most as he made four three-pointers in the second quarter. Though the Bucks FG rates started to fall in the second half, they exploited the Raptors' dread of their three-pt shooting to enhance the team's attack towards the rim. Finally the Raptors panicked on defense in the last two minutes, leaving two open three-pointers for Brogdon and one easy dunk for Antetokounmpo.

The second mistake Toronto made was their failure to give the ball to Leonard, the team's most reliable weapon on offense. As the leading orchestrator on the bench, Fred VanVleet seemed unwilling to pass the ball to Leonard and the team's back center Jonas Valanciunas. As a result, Leonard couldn't use his offensive power, despite Milwaukee's relatively weaker defense of bench players.

Lowry was the team's third but now the latest problem after Sunday's game. The 32-year-old-point-guard has played four terrible games in a row and with a total FG rate of only 14.2 percent (4/28) to scores only 3.75 points per game. More importantly, Lowry shot only seven times on average, way too few for an All-Star guard who earns 21.2 million U.S. dollars this season. As a player who has been sticking to the "Moreyball concept" – trying to shoot only three pointers or score in the paint to improve efficiency – Lowry's play is already too focused on scoring efficiency instead of scoring production. if he can't raise his FG rate, Lowry may soon become liability on the team's offense.

After Sunday's loss, the Raptors will play four consecutive away games against Western Conference contenders. The team leads by only 2.5 wins in the East, but with the tough away games and Lowry's recent disappointing performances, Toronto has a reason to worry about their position.

Thirty-three-year-old wingman Trevor Ariza of the Phoenix Suns has been a popular trade target. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to get Ariza in a three-team trade.

Woj's sources said that Phoenix are looking for a playmaker while the Lakers want to put Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who is also a 3D-player in the deal as the largest leverage and hence the two teams are looking for a third party. So far, no agreements have been reached and both the Suns and the Lakers are open to options.

Ariza joined Phoenix in the summer with a 15-million-dollar, one-year contract, making him not eligible for a trade until Saturday. Back in 2009, he was still playing for the Lakers and won the NBA Finals Championship with the team. The 33-year-old has only one year with his contract so he won't affect the team's payroll next summer when they could potentially try to recruit star-level players like Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson.

The Lakers are not the only team interested in Ariza. The Philadelphia 76ers who are trying to stretch out the space for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are desperate for shooters and they have Markelle Fultz, a real point guard that the team selected with the first pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Ariza's former employer, the Houston Rockets also want to re-sign him, but their leverage may not be enough to convince the Suns.

Other games on Sunday included: (away teams come first)

New Orleans Pelicans 116-108 Detroit Pistons

Utah Jazz 97-110 San Antonio Spurs

Charlotte Hornets 119-107 New York Knicks