In the time it took for Jose Calderon's free throw to bounce off the rim, ending his run at NBA history, and Jermaine O'Neal to get tossed from the game in a heated exchange, the positive vibes the Toronto Raptors had been building over the previous three games came to a screeching halt.
Former Raptor Charlie Villanueva poured in 26 points and added 13 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 96-85 win over Toronto that ended the Raptors' three-game win streak.
"We had three victories and we wanted to get on a roll and play well, but we faced a team that obviously looked like and played like they wanted it a little bit more tonight," Raptors coach Jay Triano said after.
Chris Bosh had 18 points and nine boards to top Toronto (19-29), while Andrea Bargnani and O'Neal finished with 16 apiece, and Anthony Parker added 12.
Calderon, who was chasing the NBA record for consecutive free throws, saw his run come to an end when he missed the second of two attempts with 3:32 left in the game, eliciting a gasp from the crowd.
"I start over and that's it," said Calderon, who had 11 assists and seven points on the night. "It's no big thing for me. Everybody has to forget about it. It didn't matter to me before and it doesn't matter to me now. I'm mad, not because I missed a free throw, but because we lost the game."
The Raptors went into Friday's game playing some of their best basketball this season, and appeared to have turned a corner after their winning streak putting an end to a miserable seven-game skid.
But they never led Milwaukee by more than six points - and that was early in the night - and trailed 70-59 heading into the final 12 minutes.
The Bucks stretched their lead to 18 points and then were up 16 with just under seven minutes to play when O'Neal was whistled for an offensive foul on Luc Mbah a Moute - he hit the Bucks player with his driving knee on a layup - that enraged the Toronto coaching staff and revved up the Raptors, along with the crowd of 18,791 at the Air Canada Centre.
"I've never seen the actual call that was called on me ever called in an NBA game in 13 years. I don't know how to jump off one leg without raising your other leg," O'Neal said.
"I guess we have to reinvent how we do layups because you're not allowed to lift your knee," Triano added. "We teach grade-school kids in Canada how to do layups and you lift the opposite leg you take off from. We've got to change that, because it's not allowed any more."
A basket by O'Neal cut the Bucks' lead to 86-78 with 3:59 left, but Toronto would come no closer over a final few heated moments. O'Neal was ejected with 2:04 to go after picking up his second technical foul in a scuffle with Villanueva.
"Charlie doesn't weigh enough, bottom line," an angry O'Neal said after the game. "You can be tough when the camera's on, and the ref controls the game but at the end of the day he just doesn't weigh enough to speak to me any kind of way. Thank you."
Villanueva had taken exception to O'Neal's hit on Richard Jefferson, but the Raptors centre said he was sticking up for Anthony Parker, who had been sent sprawling to the floor several times.
"For a team to come together the team has to know that every player has their back, and I didn't particularly like the way A.P. hit the floor on three occasions on one possession," O'Neal said.
The veteran centre left the floor to a standing ovation, the last time Toronto fans would cheer as four free throws by Luke Ridnour secured the win for Milwaukee.
Ridnour chipped in with 15 points for the Bucks (23-27), while Andrew Bogut added 13 in his first game back after missing eight straight with back spasms. The victory was Milwaukee's first since Michael Redd suffered a season-ending injury.
The Bucks outshot the Raptors 47 per cent to 43 per cent, and edged them on the boards 39-36.
"We still have a lot of ball to play," Bosh said. "You talk about getting frustrated, but when you get frustrated that's when you dig a hole and then nothing goes right."
Calderon's free throw streak ended at 87, leaving him No. 2 all-time and just 10 away from tying the NBA league record set by Minnesota's Micheal Williams in 1993.
Bargnani got the Raptors rolling with 13 points in the first quarter as the Raptors shot 60 per cent in the frame and took a 30-24 lead into the second.
The Bucks opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run capped by a Villanueva hook shot that gave Milwaukee a five-point lead. They would stretch it to seven before the Raptors battled back and Parker drained three free throws to cut Milwaukee's lead to 49-47 at halftime.
The Bucks began the third with a 13-4 run to take an 11-point lead on a layup by Ramon Sessions midway through the quarter, and the Bucks remained in control to lead 70-59 heading into the fourth.
Notes: Redd suffered a season-ending knee injury Saturday. . . . The Raptors had beaten Milwaukee in four of the Bucks' previous five visits to the Air Canada Centre. . . . The Raptors host Orlando on Sunday, then play the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Tuesday before returning home to face the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. . . . Author/environmentalist David Suzuki was at the game, as was Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Litsch and actor Don Diamont of the Young and the Restless.
