MILWAUKEE • The Milwaukee Bucks have been the National Basketball Association's (NBA) top seeds for the past two seasons.
Having added Jrue Holiday and tied down two-time Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo to a five-year supermax extension in the off-season, the Bucks are targeting to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974.
Milwaukee remain on course for the post-season - they are third in the Eastern Conference with a 16-12 record - but this season has been more difficult than expected.
Fred VanVleet scored 33 points and added seven assists as the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Bucks 124-113 on Tuesday, handing them their fourth straight loss.
The hosts were outscored 12-4 in the final five minutes. They are now 0-9 when trailing after three quarters this season and have the second-lowest win rate in games that go into clutch time this season at 22 per cent.
The Detroit Pistons, the bottom team in the East, are the only team faring worse at 20 per cent.
Antetokounmpo later admitted to some frayed nerves in the locker room but he is hoping Holiday, who missed his fifth straight game due to Covid-19 protocols, can give the team a lift when he is cleared to return.
"At the end of the day, we lost four in a row, we're not going home," said the forward, who led all scorers with 34 points.
"We're still here. It's not the play-offs. Obviously, it's frustrating. We want to win, especially a game like this.
"I kind of have a feeling that everybody is in a panic mode, which should not be the case. Always, you've got to look at the bright side of it, it's not the end of the world right now.
"We should keep improving, we should keep playing good basketball... We have to be better. And we need him (Holiday)."
Raptors coach Nick Nurse, whose team (13-15) ended a two-game skid, feels that the Bucks will eventually get out of their funk, with the coronavirus pandemic not helping matters.
"In a normal year, I probably would be a bit surprised. But I think there's all kinds of things going on with several, several teams around the league," he said.
"I think they're among a group of teams that will continue to play better in the second half and get ready for a long run in the play-offs. They've got all the tools they need."
REUTERS
