THE Toronto Raptors struggled in their first two games of the Eastern Conference finals, letting the first game of the series slip away in the final minutes and getting blown out in Game 2.

While it took an extra 10 minutes Sunday night, the Raptors finally came out on top.

The Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-112 in double overtime Sunday at Scotiabank Arena, picking up their first win of the series behind a 36-point performance from Kawhi Leonard.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t have our best game,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said after the game. “But obviously our team is special, and even though their leaders had a bad night, they were able to send this game into double overtime. I’m excited about this team. This team is really special ... Everybody’s really, really hungry and we have one more game in Toronto.”

The Raptors took off out of the gate, and mounted a 16-5 run to start the game — clearly ready to avenge their blowout loss in Game 2. A pair of quick 3-pointers from Kris Middleton and George Hill, though, brought the Bucks back within five points just minutes later. The Raptors, though, pushed ahead to take a nine-point lead after the first quarter, all while holding Antetokounmpo to just two points.

The Raptors fended off multiple Bucks pushes in the second quarter and, thanks to a huge corner 3-point bucket from Serge Ibaka with less than a second left in the period, ended the half with a seven-point lead.

While it was Leonard who led the way with 15 points in the first half, it was Pascal Siakam who turned heads. Siakam — who has averaged just 11.5 points in the first two games against Milwaukee — dropped 12 points in the opening half, shooting 5-of-9 from the field.

Milwaukee closed the gap in the third quarter, ending the period on a 9-2 run to make it just a two-point game heading into the fourth quarter, and then tied it up with just four minutes left in the game.

(SD-Agencies)