It was pretty simple. Hard, but pretty simple.
To move up in the standings and get to .500 for the first time since early December, all the Raptors had to do Sunday night was finish off a home-road back-to-back with a road win over a rested opponent that owned the best record in the NBA and happened to have a full roster available.
And while they handled themselves well for most of the night, there were just too many things conspiring against them.
With Brook Lopez dominating the fourth quarter and Giannis Antetokounmpo enjoying an almost perfect night from the field, the Milwaukee Bucks ended Toronto’s three-game winning streak with a 118-111 victory in a delightful late-season outing.