It was one of the remarkable achievements by the NBA’s best team this season: En route to winning 60 regular-season games and venturing within two wins of a berth in the NBA final thanks to a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final, the Milwaukee Bucks had lost back-to-back games just once heading into Tuesday’s Game 4.
Er, make that twice. And don’t underestimate the significance of Toronto’s back-to-back wins over the Bucks at Scotiabank Arena. Tuesday’s 120-102 victory, after all, didn’t just transform this battle for the East into an actual, viable series. It placed a microscope on a question that hasn’t yet been exhaustively explored in these playoffs — specifically, how will the Bucks respond now that they’re seriously being tested?