BROOK LOPEZ and Kyle Lowry traded 3-pointers down the stretch of a conference finals game in the year 2019, and it made for a glorious start to this Milwaukee Bucks-Toronto Raptors series.

The Raptors did not make a field goal after Lowry’s seventh triple tied the game with four minutes left, and Lopez delivered the dagger, draining his fourth 3 of the night during a 10-0 run that closed out a 108-100 win. The 7-foot (2.13-meter) former All-Star scored a career playoff-high 29 points for the Bucks, while the Raptors squandered Lowry’s first 30-point playoff game in three years.

Lowry and Kawhi Leonard combined to score 61 points, and Toronto held Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in check, which for him still meant 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. The end result was a blown opportunity by the second-seeded Raptors to steal home-court advantage, and it was the sort of soul-crushing loss that can bleed into another.

Lopez spent four seasons with his back to the basket for the New Jersey Nets, which gives you an idea of how unlikely this moment was for him even a year ago, when the Los Angeles Lakers let him walk for a mere US$3.4 million from Milwaukee. After attempting only 31 total 3-pointers in his first eight NBA seasons, Lopez began taking and making them at an alarming rate in his final season in Brooklyn. His evolution led to an NBA record this season for 3’s made by a 7-footer.

The 31-year-old had not appeared in the playoffs since 2015, when he did not attempt a single postseason 3, and here he was taking 11 in his first ever Eastern Conference finals game.

On the other side was Lowry, whose career playoff struggles are well-documented. He finished scoreless in Game 1 against the Orlando Magic in the first round and was held to single digits in the conference semifinals opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. He exploded in Game 1 of this series, scoring 30 points on 15 shots, including 7-of-9 shooting from distance. He had not scored 30 in a playoff games in his last 30 outings. It wasn’t enough. While he made five of his seven fourth-quarter shots, his teammates finished 0-for-15 in the frame. That was the game.

The idea that those two — the doughy 6-foot-1 Lowry and oafish 7-foot Lopez — would duel late in a conference finals game that featured Leonard and Antetokounmpo seemed ludicrous only hours ago. We may never see it again, but Milwaukee will have The Brook Lopez Game forever.  (SD-Agencies)