DeRozan, Ross lead Raptors over Bucks in high-scoring affair

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It may seem like a surprising fact: The Toronto Raptors are currently tied with the Golden State

Warriors for the best offensive efficiency in the NBA. It's true, and the Raptors rolled to another high-scoring win on Monday,

122-100 over the athletic, young Milwaukee Bucks.

Led by 30 points from DeMar DeRozan and 25 from Terrence Ross, the Raptors cruised to their third-straight victory on Monday and ninth in their past 10 games, improving to a 17-7 record.

Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, the burgeoning 22-year-old superstar small forward known as the Greek Freak, registered 30 points and eight rebounds, besting his performance against Toronto when the two teams met on Nov. 25. Jabari Parker also caused Toronto some problems while rolling for 27 points.

Heading into Monday's game, the hot-scoring Raptors were averaging 114.2 points for every 100 possessions. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that ties with the 21-4 Warriors for the best offensive efficiency of any National Basketball Association team since the three-point line was introduced in 1979.

The Raptors jumped ahead quickly, leading 33-23 after the first quarter behind a parade of three-pointers and a nine-point quarter for DeRozan, with another eight from DeMarre Carroll, including a pair of threes.

Carroll began the game defending Antetokounmpo, and the Milwaukee star was held to just a single field goal on three attempts in the opening frame.

Ross exploded for 12 points in the second quarter. The Raptors were one point shy of their highest-scoring half of the season, when they took a 69-49 lead into the locker room, in large part thanks to 8-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc.

In the third quarter, however, the Bucks came charging back. The young Milwaukee squad, who may challenge for a playoff spot this season, chipped away at a lead that had ballooned to 26 points. Behind big efforts from Antetokounmpo and Parker, combined with a cooling of Toronto's shooting, the Bucks outscored the Raps 33-23 in the third. Suddenly it was a 10-point game going into the final quarter.

The Raptors seemed to return in the fourth. Ross once again erupted offensively in the final quarter to help build Toronto another comfortable lead. He hit a floating jumper, a flashy driving layup and a three-pointer, while also nabbing some rebounds. The energy may have gotten the best of him though as he manufactured a steal and drove to the hoop but flubbed a monster dunk.

Kyle Lowry, coming off a season-high 34-points on 18 field-goal attempts against Boston, had 18 points and seven assists on Monday. Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 13 boards, while Carroll contributed 13 points and seven rebounds.

It was the first career NBA game in Toronto for Thon Maker, the Sudanese-born Australian who played two seasons at Athlete Institute in Orangeville, Ont., before the Bucks drafted him 10th over all back in June. The 7-foot-1 power forward has played very sporadically for the Bucks in his rookie season – appearing in just eight games. The 19-year-old played seven minutes on Monday and registered three points and three rebounds.

The Bucks lost their third in a row and now hold an 11-12 record, good for ninth in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors, who still sit second in the East, are fourth in the league in average points a game with 111, behind only Golden State, Houston and Cleveland.

"I'll take the offensive explosion that we're having right now and the good shooting, ball movement or whatever it is," said Toronto coach Dwane Casey. "I think somebody asked this morning, them seeing the ball going through for Kyle, is it contagious? [Patrick Patterson's] start dropping, T-Ross's start dropping, [Norman Powell's] start dropping, [Carroll] too."

After playing the NBA's second-toughest schedule to this point – according to Basketball Reference – the Raptors' next three games are against teams with .500 records or worse. First up is Wednesday's game in Philadelphia against the 76ers.