The picture is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph from the match
The Raptors trailed by 15 points in the first half and were missing Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, then scored 70 points after the break to win 121-107 in Milwaukee and move to 5-4 on the season.
The third quarter belongs to Martin
Twenty-seven points was more than Martin had scored in his entire season until Friday: 23 points across seven games before this one.
Martin is a 2025 second-round pick out of Florida who had entered Friday having made 6 of 27 three-point attempts across his career to that point.
Toronto's first lead of the game arrived on Martin's three-pointer that made it 71-69 with 5:41 left in the third quarter.
Jamal Shead set a career high with 16 assists alongside 10 points and a plus-23, and Collin Murray-Boyles added 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Jakob Poeltl matched those 19 points with 11 rebounds and six of them on the offensive glass, plus three steals in 31 minutes.
A 10-2 run that lasted four minutes
Tyler Herro finished with 23 points and 10 assists but was 1 of 5 from three until the attempt that put Milwaukee back in front 22 seconds after Martin's three had given Toronto their first lead.
The Bucks are 1-8, the slowest start in the franchise's history since the 1993-94 team that lost 10 of its first 11 games and went on to finish 20-62.
That three started a 10-2 run and a 79-73 advantage, and Toronto answered with the next nine points to take the lead for good on Allen Graves' three-point play with 2:17 left in the third.
Rookie Brayden Burries set career highs with 21 points and 11 rebounds, five of them offensive, and Myles Turner scored no points in 24 minutes on 0 of 7 from the floor.
Toronto's defence produced 12 steals and 27 points off Milwaukee's 21 turnovers, and the Raptors converted 24 of 31 free throws in the game.
What the two records now say
Toronto moved to 1-1 in NBA Cup group play and 5-4 overall; Milwaukee fell to 0-1 in the Cup and 1-8 in the league, part of an East Group A that also holds Detroit, Orlando and Brooklyn.
Four players in street clothes and still 28 assists: this is what a rotation built on ball movement looks like when the primary options are missing. Toronto finished with 44 made shots in 93 attempts.
The Raptors were playing without a seven-time all-NBA selection in Leonard, a two-time All-Star in Barnes and their starting guard Quickley, with Leonard missing a seventh consecutive game.
RJ Barrett carried the other half of the scoring with 27 points on nine of 21 and nine of 11 from the line, plus seven rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.
Monday brings Memphis to Toronto; Sunday brings Boston to Milwaukee, where the record book has started to look relevant.
Editor's take: NBA Cup group play asks teams to play two versions of themselves in one week. Milwaukee's 0-1 and 1-8 suggest it cannot currently afford either.
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