NBA playoffs on May 23: Raptors come back to lead 3-2 over Bucks

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The Toronto Raptors claimed their third straight victory against the Milwaukee Bucks 105-99 in Game 5 at Fiserv Forum, giving them a 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 6 will happen at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday and the home team can't wait to close the series in front of a home crowd.

Kawhi Leonard dropped the highest 35 points on the court plus seven rebounds and nine assists for Toronto. Fred VanVleet again made significant contributions to score 21 points and bury seven 3-pointers.

How did the Raptors win?

Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors shoots a 3-pointer in the game they win against the Milwaukee Bucks 105-99 at the Fiserv Forum, May 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Three-pointers were again key to Toronto's victory as they led 18-10 from behind the 3-point line. Leonard and VanVleet were five for eight and seven for nine respectively from the 3-pt line. In the third quarter when Leonard struggled with his shooting, it was VanVleet who helped Toronto stay in touch by burying three 3-pointers.

The Raptors bench outplayed their Bucks counterparts. Thanks to the 35 points from VanVleet, Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka, their team were able to gain advantage in every period of the game. By contrast, the Bucks only received 15 points from their bench squad while Nikola Mirotic and Ersan Ilyasova were both scoreless.

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Raptors shoots in the game against the Bucks, May 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Toronto's win also came from their outstanding defense of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak put down Milwaukee's highest 24 points, but he only got six in the last quarter when his team needed him. Toronto not only stopped Antetokounmpo from scoring many points, but also cut off his connections with his teammates. As he kept driving towards the rim in the last five minutes, his efforts only brought turnovers and missed shots.

Of course there's Leonard, who did more than scoring to help the Raptors win in Thursday's game. He used his offensive threat to create enough opportunities for teammates, especially from the 3-pt line, by delivering nine assists. When the game became a superstar-contest in the last quarter, Leonard was still that unstoppable "Mute Mamba" he has been and claimed 15 points.

How did the Bucks lose?

Malcolm Brogdon #13 of the Bucks drives towards the rim in the game against the Raptors, May 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Coach Mike Budenholzer altered Milwaukee's starting-lineup in Game 5 by replacing Mirotic with Malcolm Brogdon, for two reasons. First, Brogdon had been a starting player of the team before he had to rest for weeks because of a plantar fascia tear in his right foot; second, since he came back in the playoffs, Brogdon dropped 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists on average, offering steady firepower to the team.

It's hard to say whether it's a smart move or not. Brogdon played 33 minutes in Game 5 to get 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, basically the third-best performance on the Bucks. However, Mirotic became a disaster on the bench. Not only did he contribute nothing on offense – he missed all four shots. The Spanish forward was simply too slow to stop anyone from penetrating.

What made things worse was that Mirotic had no one to turn to for help because his inside partner was Ilyasova, who has even less athleticism than Mirotic. Such a slow combination couldn't protect the rim. Every time they were on the court, the Bucks looked like a scoring ATM.

Khris Middleton #22 of the Bucks shoots in the game against the Raptors, May 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Milwaukee's shooters are to be blamed too. The team shot the league's second-most 537 3-pointers in the playoffs with a 3-point rate of only 33.5 percent, which could only rank No.10 among all 16 teams. That did not bother them when Milwaukee could destroy the opponent in the paint or via fast breaks. However, when the opponent figured out how to stop Milwaukee in those two areas, just like what Toronto's done, Milwaukee was in trouble.

The Bucks had to reconsider their defensive tactics too. In the regular season they were already the team that allowed the most open 3-pointers by the opponent and the brought that habit to the playoffs. Their first two opponents, the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics were never good 3-point teams and thus could not punish the Bucks for their negligence. However, the Raptors gave a different answer in the Eastern Finals by sinking 14.8 3-pointers per game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (C) drops the ball under the defense of two Raptors players in the game, May 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Antetokounmpo was another unavoidable topic in Milwaukee's loss. There are several things he could do better: make free throws; play smarter; pass/shoot when he can, not when he has to.