Fresh off of back-to-back wins over the weekend, the Toronto Raptors look to keep rolling on Tuesday night as they play host to the Giannis Antetokoumpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Watch the Raptors take on the Bucks LIVE Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on TSN1/4, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
Toronto snapped a four-game skid with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their NBA Cup opener on Friday night, before taking down the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday to improve to 3-4 on the season.
RJ Barrett, of Mississauga, Ont., scored a game-high 27 points to lead Toronto in the victory over Memphis, with Brandon Ingram chipping in 26 points of his own on 66 per cent shooting from the field.
Scottie Barnes recorded his third double-double of the year with 19 points and 12 rebounds, also getting it done on the defensive end with a season-high five blocks.
The Raptors will look for a measure of revenge against the Bucks Tuesday after falling to Milwaukee 122-116 in their home opener on Oct. 24.
Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 20 rebounds, and seven assists in that win, while Cole Anthony scored 23 points off the bench to help the Bucks pull away in the fourth quarter.
Milwaukee comes into Tuesday’s contest at 5-2 after taking down the Indiana Pacers 117-115 on Monday night.
Antetokounmpo scored 33 points against the Pacers, knocking down a buzzer-beating fadeaway jumper as time expired in the fourth quarter to send the Bucks to victory.
The Raptors could be buoyed on Tuesday night by the return of Jakob Poeltl, who has missed Toronto’s past three games with a back injury.
Poeltl was a full participant in practice on Monday, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, and is currently listed as questionable for the contest.
Entering his 10th season in the NBA, Poeltl averaged career-best marks in minutes (29.6), points (14.5), and rebounds (9.6) per game last year, and was rewarded with a four-year extension by the front office that will keep him in Toronto through the 2029-30 season.
He has averaged 6.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists through his first four games of the season for Toronto.
Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles has taken on an extended role in Poeltl’s absence, and has impressed both teammates and coaches with his recent play.
The South Carolina product logged a career-high 31 minutes on Sunday in the win over Memphis, recording 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.
“I don’t think he’s playing like a rookie right now,” Barrett said of Murray-Boyles, who was selected with the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft. “He’s playing very well. He’s having some big minutes, especially in these first couple of games.”
“He’s a very talented basketball player,” head coach Darko Rajakovic added. “He has such a good feel for the game [with his] spacing. He’s really good in his role with his pick-and-rolls.
“He just does a good job of being in the right place, and he competes at a really, really high level.”
Murray-Boyles missed Toronto’s game against the Bucks earlier this season with a forearm injury, but figures to play a role in limiting both Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner this time around.