The biggest takeaway from the Toronto Raptors crucial Game 5 win over the Milwaukee Bucks was the performance of second-year guard Norman Powell.
No stranger to playoff heroics, Powell has changed the complexion of the series ever since Dwane Casey inserted him into the starting lineup prior to Game 4. On Monday, he led the Raptors in scoring with 25 points and laid the hammer down on multiple occasions:
That Powell is going off against Milwaukee, of all teams, isn’t lost on Wisconsin-area fans and those who cover the Bucks for a living. After all, it was a draft night trade two years ago between the Raps and Bucks that landed Powell in Toronto in a trade that, with the benefit of hindsight, seems wildly lopsided today.
So, unsurprisingly, Powell was on the minds of those covering the Bucks-Raptors series. Here’s what they had to say:
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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel— Bucks-Raptors deal in 2015 keeps giving for Toronto
The Milwaukee Bucks were not going to take Norman Powell in the 2015 draft.
But that hardly mattered Monday night as the second-year forward tore them apart in the Toronto Raptors’ 118-93 victory at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors romped in a pivotal fifth game as the 6-foot-4 Powell started for the second straight game and scored 25 points.
The Bucks selected Powell for the Raptors in a draft night deal, and also sent them a 2017 first-round pick, in exchange for guard Greivis Vasquez. The former Raptors guard never made an impact for Milwaukee and was out most of the 2015-’16 season with a foot injury.
Toronto used one of its two first-round picks in the 2017 draft as part of its trade deadline deal with Orlando for Serge Ibaka. And Powell is the gift that keeps giving for the Raptors.
“Powell has come in with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball and they’re feeding off of that,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said.
BrewHoop— Bucks Get Blown Out by Sweet Shooting Raptors
Norman Powell, scourge of Bucks Twitter, has completely altered this series, and he is now 7-7 from three-point range after a perfect 4-4 game tonight. Eventually, this guy will miss a three, but his defensive malice against Middleton is just as important, as he continues to give the Bucks guard troubles on the perimeter. He even flat out blocked one of his shots tonight.
Norman Powell Juice pic.twitter.com/KkU0zIWnNE
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2017
Journal Sentinel— Powell’s heroics give Toronto 3-2 lead
Norman Powell played well in Toronto’s Game 4 victory on Saturday.
But that was just the warm-up act.
The Raptors second-year small forward dunked, drove and buried three-pointers from the corner as Toronto routed the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-93, to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series on Monday night.
Milwaukee will return home trying to stave off elimination on Thursday night in Game 6, while the Raptors will try to advance to a conference semifinal meeting with Cleveland.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a playoff career-high 30 points to lead the Bucks but their defense faltered and they continued to commit costly turnovers, something that plagued them in their Game 4 loss at home.
Powell, selected 46th overall in the 2015 draft with a pick the Bucks traded to Toronto in the ill-fated deal for Greivis Vasquez, was everywhere while thrilling the sellout crowd at the Air Canada Centre.
Behind The Buck Pass (Fansided)— Powell Haunts the Bucks
First off, let me preface this by saying there’s a difference between trading players, and trading the pick that they’re taken with. It’s true that Norman Powell was drafted with a pick that was traded to the Raptors by the Bucks, but there’s no telling if the Bucks would have drafted him if they’d kept the pick.
However, Powell came out strong on Monday. He hit all four of his three-point attempts, got three steals, and paced all Raptors’ scorers with 25 points.
It’s very unlikely that Powell plays this well again, but if the Raptors share the ball as well as they did last night for the rest of the series, the Bucks could be in trouble.
