How Thon Maker helped Giannis and the Bucks steal Game 1

TORONTO - Giannis Antetokounmpo stole the show on Saturday night in Toronto, but it was a younger Buck - of almost equally tantalizing potential - who spurred the Milwaukee rally that helped the Bucks become the latest in a long line of road underdogs to escape Toronto with a Game 1 win.

"Thon (Maker) made some great plays there in that third quarter, blocking shots when (Kyle) Lowry got to the basket, or (DeMar) DeRozan got to the basket," head coach Jason Kidd said after Milwaukee's 97-83 victory.

It's safe to say Kidd undersold Maker's brilliance early in the second half.

The third-seeded Raptors stretched their lead to 53-46 in the opening minute of the third frame, and appeared to be taking control after the sixth-seeded Bucks had impressed for much of the first half. Maker then spent three glorious minutes teasing the potential of Milwaukee's lanky future.

Between the 10:37 and 7:16 marks of the third quarter, the rookie center recorded a pair of electric blocks on Lowry and DeRozan, stole the ball from DeMar on an another defensive possession, and knocked down a 15-foot baseline jumper. In addition to that bucket, the three aforementioned defensive plays led to a combined eight points on ensuing Bucks possessions.

By the time the Maker-led run was complete, the Bucks were up 61-57, putting the finishing touches on a 15-4 run that temporarily silenced the traditionally rowdy Air Canada Centre crowd.

Roughly a year ago, Maker was only just wrapping up a pre-NBA journey that took him from war-torn Sudan to Uganda, Australia, Louisiana, Virginia, and finally, to Orangeville, Ontario, just 50 miles northwest of the ACC.

That journey wasn't lost on the 20-year-old as he basked in the glow of his first taste of playoff basketball.

"A lot of people have different paths," Maker told theScore from the visiting locker room. "Mine took me a long way to get here. I'm thankful that I'm here. I've just got to make the most of it now."

If Saturday - and the last couple months of the regular season - are any indication, Maker will do just that.

After appearing in only 26 of Milwaukee's first 51 games, and averaging less than six minutes in those appearances, Maker was handed a starting job when the Bucks lost forward Jabari Parker to another knee injury. From there, he started the team's final 31 contests, averaged a respectable 13 minutes, and had a palpable impact on the Bucks' aggressive defense.

Much of Milwaukee's late-season success has been attributed to the return of two-way stud Khris Middleton, and rightfully so, but Maker's imprints could be found on most nights, as over those final 31 games, the Bucks defended nearly two full points per 100 possessions better with Maker on the court as opposed to off.

None of what the Bucks saw down the stretch, or what Toronto bore witness to on Saturday, surprised Maker's oldest teammate.

"What I saw from him is what I've seen since day one - high basketball IQ, high motor," Jason Terry told theScore. "For GMs, for (player) personnel guys who are scouting and trying to figure out what they want in a big, in any system, you need a big that has a high basketball IQ and a high motor. He does it every single night. He does his job, and when he's not doing his job, he's very vocal and in-tune to the game. He plays beyond his years."

That much was evident during Maker's 15 minutes in Game 1 - a figure that seems impossibly low when you recall the number of potentially game-changing defensive plays he made.

"I had to affect the game somehow," Maker said. "I don't like being out there and not doing anything to help my team. Then you might as well not be on the floor. I feel like I've got to find a way to impact the game, and if it's not on offense, I've got to find a way on the defensive end. At the end of the day, it's basketball - you've got to stop the other team from scoring, just like you have to score on the other end.

"(Lowry and DeRozan) are great scorers. They see a small window, and they take it, so you really have to be alert and be ready at all times."

Despite being drafted 10th overall as somewhat of a long-term project, Maker has already proven he'll be ready whenever Kidd calls on him, and on Saturday, he proved it again on his biggest stage yet.

Between he and Antetokounmpo, you get the feeling the stages will continue to get bigger for the Bucks, sooner rather than later.