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Raptors use balanced scoring to overwhelm Bucks in game 5

Xinhua, April 25, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Toronto Raptors had six players score in double digits in the team's 118-93 blowout victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in game five of their first round Eastern Conference Finals match on Monday evening to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

In front of a sold-out home crowd at Air Canada Centre, Toronto controlled the game and led for all but one minute of action. After allowing Milwaukee to take an early 11-9 lead in the first quarter, Toronto went on a 17-0 run to go out in front by double-digits by the end of the frame.

During the third quarter, the margin would reach 21 points, the first time during the entire series that Toronto has led by more than 20 points. In the final minute of action, the lead was 28, matching a Raptors record for largest lead in a postseason game.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said he was pleased with his team's decisiveness during game five compared to the first four games in the series.

"I thought guys made excellent decisions out of the double team and out of the trap," Casey said after the win. "Everybody that caught it was ready to drive it, pass it or shoot it. That' s been our Achilles heel the first few games."

Leading the charge was sophomore guard Norman Powell, who scored a team-high 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Powell was inserted into the starting line-up prior to game four and the team is now 2-0 since the shuffle.

"Huge. He's a spark plug. In this series, he's been that X-factor," Casey spoke of Powell's impact on the last two games. "He's done an excellent job of playing off of those two (All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry) and taking what the game has been giving him," he added.

In addition to Powell, the team's four other starters also scored in double-digits. DeRozan and Lowry finished with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Meanwhile, forwards Serge Ibaka and DeMarre Carroll finished with 19 and 12 points, apiece. Reserve Cory Joseph also chipped in with 10 points.

"It's got to be a confidence builder," said Casey on the balanced scoring his team displayed in the win. "The ball was going around. When one guy was ready to shoot it, it's contagious."

By the end of the game, Casey's squad shot a franchise postseason record of 57.7 percent (41-for-71) from the field, eclipsing the former record of 53.8 percent. Additionally, the 118 points scored was the most ever scored in a playoff game, surpassing the 116 scored against Miami last April.

The series now shifts to Milwaukee for game six on Thursday. If the Raptors are unable to eliminate Bucks then, the series will return to Toronto on Saturday for a winner-takes-all game seven. Endit