NBA Playoffs 2019: Recap from the Toronto Raptors' thrilling double overtime Game 3 win over the Milwaukee Bucks

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The Toronto Raptors are on the board after grinding out a 118-112 double overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Kawhi Leonard led the charge with 36 points and nine rebounds, while Pascal Siakam added 25 points and Marc Gasol had 16. 

The Raptors led by five points with 1:09 remaining in regulation before clutch buckets from Malcolm Brogdon and Khris Middleton helped send the game into overtime.

Here are four key takeaways from tonight's action...

Kawhi comes up big once again

Leonard delivered once again. He played a career-high 52 minutes and led the Raptors in scoring with 36 points, doing so on 11-for-25 shooting from the field and 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

Leonard was at his best in the second overtime, when he scored eight of Toronto's 15 points to secure the much-needed win.


Leonard also played a huge role in Giannis Antetokounmpo having one of his quieter games of the postseason. The MVP finalist had 23 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks, but Antetokounmpo scored only 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the field.

Antetokounmpo committed a game-high eight turnovers as well.

One of the biggest adjustments the Raptors made in Game 3 was having Leonard serve as the primary defender on Antetokounmpo, not Pascal Siakam. Even though he received plenty of help, Leonard was able to make life more difficult for Antetokounmpo than Siakam could in Games 1 and 2.

All in all, it was a gritty performance by Leonard, who appeared to be dealing with a leg injury all game long.

Raptors defence slows down Giannis

It may be one of the toughest things to do in basketball, but the Raptors found some success in Game 3 slowing down Antetokounmpo, showing him a five-man wall on the defensive end.

The Raptors scrambled and swarmed Antetokounmpo on every drive to the basket, getting the ball out of his hands or forcing him to get caught in the air on several occasions as he kicked the ball out to his teammates. 

The increased attention resulted in the Greek Freak accounting for eight of the Bucks' 15 turnovers and his frustrating night ended with 4:24 remaining in the second overtime period, picking up his sixth foul and fouling out.

While Giannis was held in check, his teammates picked up the slack with five other Bucks scoring in double figures, with the bench again coming up big, combining for 54 points.

Gasol and Powell step up at home

Gasol was a different player in Game 3.

He set the tone for the Raptors in the first quarter with eight points, four assists and three rebounds. Gasol had eight points, nine rebounds and three assists the rest of the way, but he made his presence felt on defence during that stretch with four blocks.

Gasol ended the night with 16 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks in 44 minutes of play, giving him his first playoff double-double with the Raptors.

The Raptors got a big boost off the bench from Norman Powell in Game 3, too. He was responsible for 19 of Toronto's 27 bench points on an efficient 7-for-13 shooting from the field.


The only players to score more were Leonard (36) and Pascal Siakam (25). He would've had an opportunity to add to his point total had he not fouled out in 29 minutes as well.

Up until that point of the game, Powell (29) had logged more minutes than Danny Green (23).

With how well he's played the last two games, expect Powell to continue being a big part of Toronto's rotation for the remainder of this series.

Hill and Brogdon spark Bucks' bench mob

With Antetokounmpo held quiet in Game 3 and Khris Middleton scoring just nine points, the Bucks turned to their second unit for some offence and they responded impressively, namely George Hill and Malcolm Brogdon.

Hill finished with 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting, adding seven rebounds, while Brogdon chipped in 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting, adding five rebounds. 

The duo combined for 44 of the team's 54 bench points, with 12 coming from the pair in the overtime periods, as the Bucks leaned on their reserve guards with Antetokounmpo off the floor.

Hill drained a clutch triple in the overtime period to tie the score at 99-99 before draining a pair of free throws later in the extra period to send the game into double-overtime.


Brogdon was equally impressive in Game 3, taking the tough task of guarding Leonard for stretches, using his length and athleticism to disrupt plays on one end while continually attacking Leonard off the dribble on the other end. Brogdon's ability to get into the paint and attract defenders opened up a ton of good looks for his teammates, when their offence struggled to get going.

Milwaukee's starters shot a combined 19-of-69 (27.5%) from the field in Game 3, going 6-of-29 (20%) from three.

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