NBA: Casey gets milestone win as Raptors beat Bucks 106-87
Toronto Raptors’ guard DeMar DeRozan, center, passes the ball under pressure from Milwaukee Bucks forwards Greg Monroe (15) and Khris Middleton during first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
TORONTO, Canada — Dwane Casey got his franchise-record 157th win as coach of the Toronto Raptors with a 106-87 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
The milestone came in his 315th game with the Raptors, besting the previous record held by current Minnesota Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell.
Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and eight rebounds, and DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry had 15 points each.
The victory boosted Toronto’s record to 3-0, just the third time in team history that it has been perfect through the season’s opening three games, and the first time since 2008-09.
The Bucks dropped to 0-3 despite a game-high 20 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s the first time the team has started a season with three consecutive losses since 1976-77, when it dropped five straight. Milwaukee previously had the longest streak in NBA history without starting 0-3.
Patrick Patterson went 4 for 5 from the beyond the 3-point line, and Terrence Ross added three more 3-pointers off the bench in the fourth quarter for Toronto. The Raptors had shot just 8 for 21 in the third quarter, allowing the Bucks to close the lead to 10 points entering the final 12 minutes.
Having scored just four points in the opening quarter, DeRozan had nine in the second and Toronto led 55-41 at halftime. It was the Raptors’ first halftime lead this season.
With the game tied 14-14, a pair of 3-pointers propelled the Raptors to a 10-0 run toward the end of the first quarter, but Chris Carroll hit one of his own from beyond the arc to close the Bucks’ deficit to five points.
TIP-INS: Milwaukee led only once all game, and that lead lasted just 2:48. . Casey has coached 50 different players in Toronto. DeRozan is the only player to have played continuously for him since his first season in 2011-12. . Greivis Vasquez went 5 for 5 from the free-throw line and had nine points in his first game against Toronto since the draft-night trade that sent him from the Raptors to Milwaukee in exchange for a pair of draft picks. . Bucks G O.J. Mayo (hamstring) missed his third straight game. F/C John Henson (Achilles) was not available.
