Game Rewind: Pacers 94, Raptors 106

Last Updated: Dec. 12 at 10:19 p.m.

In trying to snap their second six-game losing streak of the season, the Pacers had a tall order at Air Canada Centre on Friday night, taking on the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. And while the Raptors came into the contest ranked 26th in the NBA in rebounding, it was Toronto’s superior performance on the glass that sent Indiana to another defeat, 106-94.

Up until their home loss to the Clippers on Wednesday, the Pacers had been an elite rebounding team, and had been dominant on both ends of the floor in that department. Indiana entered Friday’s contest against Toronto limiting opponents to just 10.1 second-chance points per game, best in the Association.

But the Raptors dominated the Pacers under the basket, grabbing 16 offensive boards, compared to Indiana’s six. The resulting second-chance points for Toronto defined this game. Both teams had trouble shooting, with the Pacers connecting on 41 percent of their field goal attempts and the Raptors connecting at a 42 percent clip. But with all those second-chance possessions, the Raptors ended up taking 11 more shots.

The biggest rebound disparity position-wise was at center, where in the matchup between Roy Hibbert and Jonas Valanciunas, Hibbert had only two rebounds in 28 minutes while Valanciunas grabbed 14 of them in 27 minutes. Valanciunas did most of the glass work for Toronto; no other Raptor finished with more than eight boards.

Lou Williams came off the bench to lead Toronto with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting in 30 minutes on the floor. He hit five of seven 3-point attempts. Four other Raptors finished with double-figure scoring efforts: James Johnson scored 13 points on 6-of-9 from the field, while Patrick Patterson added 11, and both Greivis Vasquez and Valanciunas added 10 apiece.

The Pacers were led in scoring by Solomon Hill, who came off the bench for the first time this season as Frank Vogel went with his seventh different starting lineup in an effort to avoid another slow start. Hill finished with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

C.J. Watson and Rodney Stuckey, who made up the starting backcourt for Indiana, added 13 points apiece, and David West finished with 12. The slow start the Pacers hoped to avoid reared its ugly head once again, as they only managed 20 first-quarter points (Indiana came in averaging 22 first-quarter points per game, fewest in the NBA).

Despite trailing by 11 at the half, the Pacers made a run in the third quarter, fueled by a 9-2 burst that brought Indiana to within four. But Toronto answered with a run of its own, led by Vasquez, who scored all 10 of his points over a four-minute stretch to close the third and open the fourth.

Mainly as a result of so many offensive rebounds for Toronto, the Pacers were outscored in the paint, 50-32.

Both teams were hot from 3-point range in the first half, at one point combining to go 10-for-19 from long distance. But both went cold after that: the Pacers hit just three of their last 13, while Toronto went 5-for-16.

Indiana’s free-throw shooting was above its season average: the Pacers made 20 of 23 attempts (87 percent) from the line. Toronto was 20-of-22 (91 percent).

"Their bench outplayed our bench. I think that stretch towards the end of the third and into the fourth They went on a tear, seemingly scored on every time down for about four or five minutes, so that separated the game." - Coach Vogel

"We will keep fighting, keep playing hard, keep trying to figure out ways to win games, and stay in games. That's the biggest thing; give ourselves a chance to win. It is not enough just to stay in them, but find a way to win games. " - C.J. Miles

"We are just getting off to slow starts and it is killing us. Toronto is a good team. We were right there in the game and we just fell short. They killed us on the boards, offensive rebounds, Lou Williams got hot and they got to the free throw line and made their free throws. They won the game." - Rodney Stuckey

"They are a good team like I said. There is a reason why they are number one in the East. They play well together, they share the ball and that's what they do." - Rodney Stuckey

The Raptors “pulled a Pacers” on the Pacers: Led by Williams’ 26, Toronto’s bench outscored Indiana’s by a 64-45 margin. On Wednesday against the Clippers, the Pacers’ bench outscored Los Angeles’ bench 66-30.

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 13 to host LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard, and the Portland Trail Blazers. Plus, pay zero fees for any tickets purchased online through December 31, courtesy of FOX Sports Indiana. Find Tickets »