Bucks 100, Raptors 83
MILWAUKEE -- Monta Ellis scored 22 points as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Toronto Raptors, 100-83, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Saturday night, clinching the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia's loss to Miami helped Milwaukee clinch the playoff berth.
After losing seven of its past nine games, Milwaukee led for nearly the entire game and dominated from the outset. The Bucks led by as many as 32 points and held the Raptors to 36 percent shooting.
The Bucks shot 47 percent from the field and had five players score in double figures, including Brandon Jennings, who finished with 16.
Larry Sanders finished with 12 points, highlighted by a couple of eye-popping dunks, nine rebounds and six blocks. Sanders' six blocks made him the first Bucks player with at least 200 blocks since Elmore Smith in 1975-76.
Alan Anderson led the Raptors (29-48) with 14 points. Quincy Acy scored a career-high 13 points, while Jonas Valanciunas and DeMar Derozan scored 12 points each. The loss was Toronto's 10th consecutive to Milwaukee.
Jennings and Sanders combined for 14 points in the first quarter as Milwaukee shot 53 percent.
An Ellis 3-pointer with 8:59 to play in the second quarter gave Milwaukee a double-digit lead that would remain comfortable the rest of the game.
Toronto scored just four points in the first nine minutes of the third quarter, as it watched Milwaukee's lead grow from 19 at halftime to 32 points.
The Raptors opened the fourth quarter with a 13-7 push, but would never cut the Bucks' lead under 19 points, as Milwaukee responded with an 8-2 run to push the lead back up to 25.
NOTES: Ekpe Udoh missed Saturday's game after spraining his right ankle against the New York Knicks on Friday night. Coach Jim Boylan said he wasn't sure if it would be a long term injury yet. ... Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas was named Eastern conference rookie of the month for March prior to Toronto's game Friday. He averaged 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.07 blocks per game in 27.1 minutes. ... Larry Sanders had grabbed at least 10 rebounds in eight straight games, the longest stretch of double-digit rebound games for the Bucks since Andrew Bogut's eight-game run in 2009-10. ... Andrea Bargnani missed his 14th consecutive game for the Raptors with an avulsion sprain in his right elbow. ... Milwaukee's 10-game winning streak over Toronto is the Bucks' longest active streak against any opponent.
