Toronto Raptors
Michael Redd scored 29 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 110-107 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday.
Jalen Rose scored 26 points to top Toronto (20-30), while Rafer Alston finished with 16 points and a game-high 12 assists the day after a locker-room altercation with head coach Sam Mitchell.
Matt Bonner added 15 points, while Morris Peterson had 14, and Chris Bosh finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who lost their third straight. Desmond Mason added 18 points for the Bucks (19-28).
In the reverse of recent games, the Raptors led for most of the night and went into the fourth quarter enjoying a seven-point lead.
But an easy night was just wishful thinking for the 14,269 fans at Air Canada Centre, who watched Toronto fall behind 104-97 with 4:34 to go in the game.
Toronto cut Milwaukee's lead to 108-107 when Peterson sprinted along the baseline to bat a loose ball to Marshall, who took off for a huge dunk with 26.8 seconds on the clock. Marshall converted the ensuing foul shot, but Joe Smith connected on a pair of free throws, and Rose missed on a three-point attempt in the waning seconds to seal the win for Milwaukee.
Despite the loss, Alston showed promising signs Wednesday. While Mitchell has been frustrated with Alston's shoot-first mentality, Wednesday the Fresno State product looked like the quintessential team player, finding his teammates with smart passes for wide open shots.
He shot 6-for-10 and doled out seven assists in one of his best first halves this season, en route to a 6-for-15 shooting night.
A night earlier, Alston had left midway through the game, escorted out by security guards in the fourth quarter of his team's 104-91 loss at Cleveland.
Wednesday, Alston looked angry sitting at his locker before the game, insisting he'd done nothing wrong in Cleveland, and saying he hoped someone would step up and apologize. When asked if he was happy to be part of the Raptors, he answered: ``That remains to be seen.''
Once he got on the court though, he seemed to have put it behind him, joking with teammates during warmup, and smiling and laughing throughout the game. When Mitchell called Alston over for a few words during the game, a fan hollered: ``Tough love Sam, tough love.''
The incident is just the latest in a troubled relationship between the coach and player, who have butted heads all season.
Alston served a two-game suspension last week for walking out in the middle of a practice.
RAFER ALSTON
16 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds
Team RB ST BLK TOT
MIL 48 6 4 58
TOR 35 12 1 48
``When I walked out of practice the other day, I was man enough to apologize, I was man enough to say I made a mistake,'' Alston said before the game Wednesday. ``Somebody better be man enough to say they made a mistake.''
Mitchell says he's not going to bend when it comes to making his players be accountable.
``I'm an emotional person and I'm getting better at it, Rafer's an emotional player and he's getting better at it,'' said Mitchell. ``We're all working to channel our emotions in the right direction. . .''
The Bucks shot 52 per cent on the night, while the Raptors connected on 47 per cent of their shots. Milwaukee also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding Toronto 48-35.
The Raptors led for almost all of the first half, racing out to a seven-point lead early in the first quarter on a jump shot by Rose. The Raptors had a 34-32 advantage heading into the second.
Peterson's three-pointer stretched their lead to 44-36 at 9:47 in the second. The Bucks used an 8-0 run to tie the game 44-44, but never took the lead and the Raptors led 61-57 at halftime.
Toronto went up 77-68 on a layup by Rafael Araujo with 7:53 to go in the third quarter, and cruised to an 88-81 lead with a quarter left to play.
NOTES: Wednesday was the first in a four-game homestand. The Raptors host Philadelphia on Friday, the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, then Chicago on Feb. 16. . .The Raptors have made a three-pointer in a league-high 500 straight games.