Lowry takes responsibility for Raps' loss: 'I have to play better'

Kyle Lowry has had terrible playoff games before, and he wasn't making excuses after another one following the Toronto Raptors' Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

"I have to play better," Lowry said, according to Sportsnet's Michael Grange and TSN's Josh Lewenberg following a measly four-point performance in Milwaukee's 97-83 win. "No ifs, ands, or buts about it, I've got to play better. It's my fifth game back, I don't give a damn. I'm going to play better."

Related: Lowry in absentia as Raptors lose another playoff opener at home

Lowry was playing in just his fifth contest since a 21-game absence due to a wrist injury, but the storyline with the point guard seems to be concentrated on his early-playoff failures.

Last spring, the Raptors' best player shot 30.6 percent from the floor and 16 percent from deep in his first eight postseason contests. While he eventually righted the ship in the second round against the Miami Heat, his numbers in playoff-opening games aren't good at all.

Lowry couldn't deny that glaring fact after Saturday's 2-of-11 performance, which included going 0-for-6 from three.

"It's like deja vu all over again," he said, according to Grange.

"I never put it on anyone else but me. I have to play better. A lot of the things I did out there tonight didn't help my team win," he said, according to Lewenberg.

He'll get his next chance Tuesday night in Toronto, with the Raptors in an 0-1 hole.