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MILWAUKEE - The playoff-bound Toronto Raptors found themselves trailing the hapless Milwaukee Bucks by nine points at halftime. DeMar DeRozan made sure the Raptors recovered to continue their push for post-season position. The Toronto guard scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and the Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-98 Saturday night to keep pace with the Chicago Bulls for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. "We cant look at a teams record, come in here and think this is going to be a cakewalk," DeRozan said. "That team came out here and played extremely hard. They kind of blindsided us and we had to fight the whole game." After the Raptors gave up 38 points in the paint to trail 56-47 at halftime, coach Dwane Casey lit into his team at halftime. "We let them shoot 58 per cent in the first half and I cant accept that," Casey said. "The first half, we were playing in mud. Standing up straight and it wasnt just the starters. Everybody who was in there." Toronto is tied the Bulls, who beat Washington on Saturday night, at 45-32 with five games to play. Milwaukee fell to an NBA-worst 14-63, guaranteeing the teams worst record in its 45-year history. "We want to win, but I think if we can play this competitive as a team every night, I think there are some better days to come," said Milwaukees John Henson, who had 23 points and nine rebounds in 39 minutes. Greivis Vasquez tied a season-high with 26 points for Toronto, which has won three consecutive games and six of seven. Vasquez, who averages 9.1 points, made up the scoring lost when starting point guard Kyle Lowry missed the game with a bruised left kneecap. "Coach jumped on us (at halftime) and we reacted pretty well," Vasquez said. "In the second half we came to play." DeRozan made six free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the victory. "We always find ways to fight through," DeRozan said. "We tried to turn up the aggressiveness, especially in the fourth quarter." Khris Middleton scored 20 points for Milwaukee, which has lost 13 of 14 games. Middleton made 6 of 9 shots after a shooting slump in which he made 14 of 41 over the past four games. DeRozan made a pair of free throws to give the Raptors a 98-94 lead with 24 seconds left. Giannis Antetokounmpo then made two free throws to pull Milwaukee within 98-96 with 20 seconds left. DeRozan made two free throws to give Toronto a 100-96 lead with 18.6 seconds to go. Jeff Adrien dunked with 11 seconds left, but DeRozan made two more free throws to cap the scoring. Both teams played short-handed for the second consecutive night. Lowry and starting forward Amir Johnson were out with injuries for Toronto. Milwaukee had only eight players available due to injuries. The Bucks was 1 of 9 from 3-point range while Toronto was 12 of 27. "That is where the difference was," Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said. "If you look at all the other categories, I believe we outscored them in the paint, more assists. A lot of good things we did do, but the 3-point line we did not do a good job defending." There were nine lead changes in the fourth quarter, but Vasquez hit a 3-pointer to give Toronto the lead for good at 86-84 with 5:24 left. DeRozan then hit a free throw and made a 22-foot jumper to give the Raptors an 89-84 lead. The Bucks pulled within 89-88, but DeRozan scored on a driving runner and Jonas Valanciunas converted a 3-point play to give the Raptors a 94-88 lead with 1:43 to go. NOTES: F Chris Wright was signed to his second 10-day contract by the Bucks on Saturday. He scored four points in 16 minutes. ... The PA announcer drew big cheers from the Bradley Center crowd with periodic updates of the Wisconsin-Kentucky game in the NCAA tournament. ... The 1993-94 Bucks went 20-62, the teams previous worst record. ... Torontos 45th win ties for the franchises third most wins in a season. 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Not sure yet. #livetweetingthegreatuntangle — Strombone (@strombone1) April 17, 2014 Stage three, coping: I feel like I could use a cigarette or something.My near-lifetime of attending football matches kicked off as a five-year-old snotty-nosed kid going to Craven Cottage with my family to watch Fulham play a West Ham team with that famous trio of World Cup winners - Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. And there was travelling up to rural Rotherham in 1981 to watch Chelsea get spanked 6-0 - at a time when this upcoming seasons BPL title favourites were marooned in the bottom half of the second division. We should have heeded the ominous warning before setting out from London, as it was Halloween morning. Ive also had the utmost privilege of attending European and FA Cup Finals. That all said, last Tuesdays U-20 game at Olympic Stadium vaults right into contention as one of my most unforgettable moments inside a football stadium. I attended Tuesdays pivotal group stage game with our U-12 playing daughter. With Canadas team comprised of players the same ages as her two elder sisters, it really bought home to us the profound significance that our hometown was hosting the FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup Finals. By the sheer noise and electric atmosphere, you wouldnt have known there were only 13,000 in the very same stadium that jammed in over 60,000 when David Beckhams LA Galaxy played the Impact in 2012. This was no more apparent than in the 65th minute, when Jeanine Beckie scored the lone goal of the game to send Canada into the quarter-finals and the crowd delirious at the final whistle. That atmosphere wasnt lost on Nichelle Prince. "They were crazy, it was insane - especially with this huge stadium," she told the media post-game. "It was an honour to be able to play in it. The crowd was amazing." As some filed out of the stadium at the final whistle, we stayed behind to fully soak up the on-field celebration and lap of honour. The standout image was when the squad sprinted over to the section that their families sat in. I have no problems admitting this bought a tear to the eye. I could only imagine the immense pride which most have been felt by players and families alike. Think of all those countless hours over many years spent toiling on a training field and football pitch. And what must have coursed through their minds as the reward of a quarter-final at the World Cup now beckoned. It was hard to imagine this was the very same team that, at halftime last Friday in Toronto, looked to be doing their best impression of our U-20s in 2007. That team ended up losing all their group stage matches and werent even able to register a goal in those three matches. Whatever was said at halftime - that inspired Canada to turning round the 0-2 score line against Finland with three unanswered second half ggoals - is truly the stuff of legend.dddddddddddd Coincidentally, last Fridays victory was a day removed from the second anniversary of that glorious London 2012 bronze medal match. Toronto captured and Montreal enraptured. Now the scene shifts to Edmonton for Saturday nightsencounter with Germany - a team which certainly captured the eye in Tuesdays earlier game at Olympic Stadium. The Germans were effortless as they stroked in goal after goal past a hapless and unrecognizable Brazil. Where, I wonder, have we heard that before? Edmonton is sure to evoke and rekindle those extraordinary scenes and memories from the FIFA U-19 Womens World Championship in 2002. That was when, on the back of 10 goals and an MVP performance from Christine Sinclair, the host nation made it all the way to the final. Four Canadians made it onto the All-Star Team. Matched against our best football friends to the south in that final, it seemed we were heading for penalties until eventually becoming unstuck in the second half of extra time - courtesy of a Lindsay Tarpley winner. In doing so, the 2002 U-19 final sowed the seeds for the biggest global rivalry in the womens game. This was on clear display at that now infamous London 2012 semifinal at Old Trafford. Five of those Sinclair goals in 2002 came against England in the quarterfinal at Commonwealth Stadium. A crowd of just over 23,000 was in attendance then. A spike in the box office occurred after Tuesdays North Korea victory, with sales for the Germany quarter final already surpassing the 16,000 mark. So were already guaranteed this will be the largest crowd of Canada 2014 so far. Runners up in 2012 and champions in 2010, Germany - along with the French - are the two standout teams of the tournament. Stopping their trio of goal scorers in Diebritz, Bremer and Pamfil - who have already found the back of the net 11 times in only three matches - is a large part of the task that awaits our ladies. Park the bus, Andrew Oliviera will not. We have a trio of stardust ourselves in Kadeisha Buchanan, Nichelle Prince and Janine Beckie. These players especially have been instrumental in that extraordinary turnaround in our fortunes, since halftime against Finland last Friday. Make no mistake - if we advance, it will be against the odds. Our so-termed 12th Player at Commonwealth Stadium has a significant role to play. If Tuesdays final group stage game provided me with abiding memories, imagine what it could be like at Olympic Stadium in Montreal next Wednesday night. A possible Canada-France semifinal matchup exists. Imagine that for a moment. Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter ' ' '