Player of the Game
EARL WATSON
Veteran point guard spearheaded the attack at both ends and produced his first double-double with the Pacers with 15 points and 11 assists.
Plus-Minus
Name Game Season
Diener DNP -9
Dunleavy +5 -43
Ford DNP -203
Foster DNP -9
Granger +10 -71
Hansbrough DNP -56
Head +2 +9
Hibbert +13 -63
D. Jones +8 -189
S. Jones DNP -133
McRoberts -1 -13
Murphy +10 -291
Price +5 -12
Rush +13 -176
Watson +10 -93
Noteworthy
  • For the second year in a row the Pacers and Raptors have split their four-game season series with each team winning its home games.
  • Indiana's 130 points tonight is its highest scoring output of the 2009-10 season and it is the most the Pacers have scored since registering 132 points in a season-ending win over the New York Knicks, 4/16/2008.
  • The Pacers scored 50 of their 130 points in the paint, the most they have scored in the paint since scoring a season-high 64 points in the paint vs. Memphis, 12/30.
  • With 15 points and a season-high 11 assists, Earl Watson recorded his first double-double of the season. Watson has handed out 10 assists twice this season.
  • The Pacers shot 44-84 FGS (.524) and shot 50+ percent from the floor for the fifth time this season. Indiana is 4-1 this season when making at least half its shots.
  • Attempting 35 free throws to the Raptors' 34, Indiana shot more free throws than the opposition for just the 15th time this season (9-6).
    • Hustle Board
    Points in the paint:
    Pacers 50, Raptors 40
    Fast-break points:
    Pacers 19, Raptors 9
    Second-chance points:
    Raptors 23, Pacers 13
    Points off turnovers:
    Raptors 20, Pacers 17
    Starters scoring:
    Raptors 94, Pacers 89
    Bench scoring:
    Pacers 41, Raptors 21
    Stat of the Night
    All five Pacers starters scored in double figures for the first time since Nov. 14, 2009, a 113-104 victory over Boston in the seventh game of the season.
    Up Next
    The Pacers host the Detroit Pistons Friday in Conseco Fieldhouse (7 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana, 1070 The Fan).
    Related links
  • Blog replay
  • Video
  • Box score
  • Recap
    • END RESULT
    Lester Conner compared his duty filling in for Jim O'Brien as that of a "substitute teacher." The students behaved unusually well as the Pacers rolled up a season-high point total, had all five starters score in double figures for the first time in more than two months and turned in a solid defensive performance in a thorough 130-115 defeat of the visiting Toronto Raptors before 11,191 Tuesday in Conseco Fieldhouse.

    Danny Granger scored 23 and Troy Murphy 20 with 14 rebounds for the Pacers, whose balance offset brilliant individual performances from Raptors Chris Bosh (35 points, 15 rebounds) and Andrea Bargnani (a career-high 34 points).

    IMPACT
    Splitting their home-and-home series with the Raptors, the Pacers snapped losing streaks of three overall and four at home to improve to 17-32 and 11-13 at home. Toronto had a five-game win streak snapped and dropped to 26-23, 9-17 on the road.

    QUOTEWORTHY
  • “I thought the guys for the most part played hard and played smart. Our bench came in and did well. We had seven guys in double figures, which means we were sharing the ball and moving the ball." – acting head coach Lester Conner
  • "We needed a feel-good game. I think everybody had fun. It was fun, especially when you know you’re prepared and ready to go.” – Conner
  • "By getting up and down the floor aggressively, I can attack first and make some things happen for my teammates. I got a little tired out there tonight but was able to reach back and get a little extra." – Roy Hibbert
  • “I wanted to be the aggressor, set the tempo for the game by moving inside-out. We all came out very aggressively, played hard, gave more assertive effort, but they still scored too many points." – Earl Watson
  • "The games we’ve scouted he’s been very good. Down in the low block, he played very well. We tried to not let him catch it but we allowed catches early giving him confidence.” – Raptors Coach Jay Triano on Hibbert.
  • “We have to tip our hats to them. They played very well. They came out with an aggressive attitude, jumped on us early, and basically controlled the entire game. The reason we came out the way we did, I don’t know exactly why. We just didn’t play our type of game at all." – Raptors guard Jarrett Jack.
  • “We played terrible defense tonight. Look at how many points they scored. They scored 130. We played terrible but you have to give them credit. They played really good." – Raptors center Andrea Bargnani

    KEY MOMENTS
    With O'Brien away attending a family funeral, Conner opted to return to the traditional lineup with Roy Hibbert at center and Troy Murphy at power forward and the Pacers responded well. They held the Raptors to 6-of-23 shooting and 19 points in the second quarter to take a 58-53 lead at the break.

    The Pacers seized control with a 19-6 run early in the third quarter that pushed the lead to 81-61. Toronto got no closer than 11 the rest of the way.

    BY THE NUMBERS
    Granger missed all five of his 3-pointer but was 8-of-14 inside the arc, producing seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals to accompany his team-high 23 points, Murphy shot 8-of-12 for his 20 points and added 14 rebounds for his 20th double-double. Hibbert scored 18 on 7-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds. Watson was electric with 15 points, 11 assists, three rebounds and two steals. Luther Head scored 13 off the bench including three 3-pointers. Brandon Rush scored 13, his seventh consecutive double-figures scoring game, and Mike Dunleavy had 12.

    The Pacers shot .524 from the field and were 33-of-35 from the free-throw line, producing 50 points in the paint and a 19-9 advantage in fast-break points as well as a 41-21 edge in bench scoring.

    Bosh was 13-of-22 from the field and 9-of-12 from the line for his 35 points, adding 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Bargnani shot 14-of-21, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point line, for his 34. Marco Belinelli scored 21 on 7-of-13 shooting but no other Raptors player scored more than six points. The Raptors shot just .446.