Dwane Casey thinks Toronto Raptors can do better after 105-99 win

MILWAUKEE -- Toronto wrapped up a five-game road trip on a high note Saturday night, holding off the Milwaukee Bucks for a 105-99 victory at the Bradley Center, but Raptors coach Dwane Casey wasn't in a celebratory mood.

Casey was pleased to head back across the border with a victory but nonetheless disappointed in his team's defense, which allowed Milwaukee to shoot 50.6 percent from the field and make 12 of 29 3-point attempts while dominating Toronto in the paint, where the Bucks outscored the Raptors 48-28.

"It was tough," Casey said. "The last game, the getaway game of a five-game road trip, that's always tough. Those guys really completed but -- I know it sounds like a broken record -- we have to get our defense back in the game.

"I love our effort. I love how we compete. But to go where we want to go, big picture, we have to continue playing defense."

The Raptors had a difficult time containing Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led all scorers with 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field with six rebounds and 11 assists in 35 minutes.

Antetokounmpo almost single-handedly brought Milwaukee back down the stretch, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter while getting the Bucks within a point twice in the final two minutes.

But every time Milwaukee threatened, the Raptors' offense answered.

Kyle Lowry hit a 3-pointer with 1:06 left to put Toronto up four with 1:06 left. After Antetokounmpo cut that deficit in half with short jumper, DeRozan restored the lead 40 seconds later, connecting from 16 feat despite a smothering double-team effort from Milwaukee's defense, including the 7-foot Antetokounmpo.

"They're going to make their runs, especially on their home court," said DeRozan, who led Toronto with 26 points. "We had to be ready to sustain those runs. That's just the experience we have from being in big situations. We've all been in big games together so we know what it takes to win."

While the Raptors' defense was struggling, their offense was clicking, especially from distance. Toronto went 14 of 31 from beyond the arc and made 6 of 11 in the fourth quarter while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor overall.

"We won the game tonight, but we have to find ways to get our defense into the game," said Lowry, who hit four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. "We have to get them under 50 percent, we have to get them to 42. That's our game."

The Bucks were sharp from long range, as well, sinking 12 of 29. Four of those came from Tony Snell, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Jabari Parker made one of his five attempts from distance and finished with 14.

"We had some great opportunities there in the fourth," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Down one, we missed some opportunities, we had some good looks, it's just the ball didn't bounce our way tonight."

The Bucks trailed by 10 after a DeRozan jumper made it 70-60 with 2:20 left in the third quarter. They closed the quarter on a 7-3 run to go into the fourth down six and had a chance to tie it with 9:56 to play but Michael Beasley's floater came up short.

"I thought we had this game today," Antetokounmpo said. "We made tough shots down the stretch and made some 3s. I felt as a team we saw a lot of good things today.

"We move forward to Orlando. Not putting pressure on my teammates and the team, but I think if we go in with the same focus as tonight, we'll get that game."

NOTES: Raptors G DeMar DeRozan began the day third in the NBA in scoring at 30.5 points per game and had four or more assists in each of his last seven games, marking the second-longest such streak of his career. ... Bucks G Tony Snell began the day with career-high averages in scoring (8.5 points per game), rebounds (4.0) and assists (1.3). ... Milwaukee recalled G Rashad Vaughn earlier this week from Westchester of the D-League, where he appeared in two games and averaged 11.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 15.9 minutes. He appeared in nine games for Milwaukee before being sent down last weekend and averaged 6.0 points on 40.4 percent shooting. ... The Raptors swept the season series 4-0 a year ago and have won 11 of their last 12 meetings with the Bucks, including six in a row in Milwaukee.