Toronto, ON (My Sportsbook) - Charlie Villanueva recorded game-highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds as the
Milwaukee Bucks defeated the
Toronto Raptors, 96-85, at Air Canada Centre.
Bucks center Andrew Bogut returned to the lineup Friday after missing the previous eight games due to back spasms. He finished with 13 points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes.
Richard Jefferson chipped in 17 points -- 15 in the second half -- for the Bucks, who snapped a two-game slide. Luke Ridnour added 15 points and Charlie Bell 11 in the win.
"I did [find my shot in the second half] and honestly I have to credit my teammates for most of them," said Jefferson. "A lot of times when you are struggling to shoot the ball you start pressing and trying to force to do too much."
Chris Bosh tallied 18 points and nine boards for the Raptors, who saw their season-high three-game win streak come to a conclusion. Andrea Bargnani and Jermaine O'Neal both scored 16 points in defeat.
Jose Calderon saw his streak of 87 consecutive free throws come to an end as he went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. His run was the second longest all-time, as Minnesota's Micheal Williams made 97 in a row from March 24- November 9, 1993.
"It's no big thing [free throw streak] for me," said Calderon. "Everybody has to forget about it, I do my job to try and win games. I'm mad, not because I missed a free throw, because we lost the game."
The Raptors were on top, 30-24, after the first quarter, but the Bucks battled back to take a slight 49-47 lead at the break.
Ramon Sessions' layup capped a 13-4 run the Bucks used to open the second half. The surge gave the visitors a 62-51 advantage with a shade over six minutes left in the third period.
Milwaukee was in the driver's seat, 70-59, heading into the final 12 minutes.
O'Neal started the fourth with a pair of free throws, but Jefferson poured in six consecutive points and Sessions had a jumper to give the Bucks a commanding 78-61 lead with about 9 1/2 minutes left to play.
Moments later, still down by 17, Jason Kapono's long-range jumper sparked an 11-2 Toronto run that closed it to within 86-78 with just under four minutes showing on the clock.
The Bucks held on from there and pulled away to secure the victory.
Game Notes
The Raptors went 3-of-12 from three-point range, which increases their NBA record to 826 straight games with a trey...Toronto is 9-13 at home this season. The Raptors had won three straight for the first time since starting the season 3-0...Milwaukee improved to 10-19 on the road this season...The 2008-09 season series has Milwaukee up 2-1, and the Raptors had won six of the last nine meetings between the teams. The Bucks are 11-4 in their last 15 trips to Canada, however.
