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Game Rewind: Pacers 91, Raptors 104

Game Recap

The Pacers got off to a great start on Tuesday night, but the Toronto Raptors (30-15) took control with a strong second quarter and pulled away in the third for a 104-91 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Though there is no shame in losing to one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, Indiana (16-31) has now lost eight of their last nine games and hasn't won consecutive games since Dec. 31-Jan. 2.

Kyle Lowry, elected to start this year's All-Star Game last week, keyed a big third quarter for Toronto. The Raptors point guard scored 10 points and dished out three assists in the period, hitting a couple of deep 3-pointers during a 15-4 run that gave Toronto a 14-point lead.

Indiana never managed to get within two possessions of the lead the rest of the way.

"They just strung together consecutive plays, we weren’t able to do that, weren’t able to string together stops and slow them down," Pacers forward David West said. "I thought our half-court defense was decent, we just couldn’t string together enough stops and get ourselves some good looks on the other end."

It was a second half short on storylines after a much more interesting first two quarters that gave new meaning to the expression "basketball is a game of runs."

The Pacers got off to a splendid start, scoring the game's first nine points and stifling the Raptors on the defensive end in the early going. Toronto hit just two of their first 12 shots as Indiana jumped out to a 15-6 lead with 4:31 remaining in the first quarter.

But the Raptors quickly found their shooting stroke, outscoring the Blue & Gold 13-5 in less than three minutes to take their first lead of the night.

Indiana then reeled off a run of its own.

George Hill, in his third game back from a groin injury that kept him out 11 games, put together a memorable sequence at the end of the first quarter. Hill drained a corner three, then stripped the ball from Greivis Vasquez on the other end and streaked down the floor to sink a floater just as the buzzer sounded. Hill's 5-point sequence was part of a 12-0 Pacers run stretching across the end of the first and beginning of the second quarters.

The Raptors, however, didn't wait long to answer. Toronto scored 20 unanswered points to turn an 11-point deficit into a nine-point lead. Over that 4:12 stretch, the Pacers struggled offensively, committing five turnovers and missing five shots.

"When we got out of rhythm offensively in the second quarter, I thought we started getting hesitant," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "And I think that impacted our defense."

The Pacers responded to the Raptors' run with an 11-2 spurt, tying the game on Rodney Stuckey's jumper with 3:02 remaining in the half, only to have the Raptors score the next seven points to take a lead into the locker room. They would effectively put the game away in the third quarter.

Stuckey led the way for Indiana on Tuesday, scoring 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. Solomon Hill added 15 points, David West and Roy Hibbert each scored 11, and George Hill had 13 in just over 20 minutes off the bench.

DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 24 points for Toronto on 7-of-15 shooting. Lowry flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.

The Pacers return to the floor on Thursday night, when they host the New York Knicks in the second game of a five-game homestand.

Inside the Numbers

Toronto's second unit outscored Indiana's bench, 42-25. The Pacers are now 0-11 on the season when they score fewer bench points than their opponent. Lou Williams (14 points), Patrick Patterson (13 points), and Terrence Ross (11 points) all scored in double figures for the Raptors. The Pacers were without sixth man C.J. Miles, who missed his second straight game with a left groin strain.

Rodney Stuckey topped 20 points for the fifth time this season and the first since Dec. 27 at Brooklyn. It was the first time this season the Pacers lost when Stuckey scored 20 or more points.

Despite playing limited minutes, George Hill has scored in double figures in each of the nine games he's played in this season.

Indiana shot just under 39 percent from 3-point range, going 7-for-18 from beyond the arc. The Pacers were 4-for-7 from long range in the first half and Solomon Hill knocked down 3-of-4 attempts from deep.

You Can Quote Me On That

"I thought their bench brought energy in both halves and separated the game in both halves...They really disrupted us on the offensive end. We couldn't get in a rhythm and then we couldn't score the ball on them. You've got to credit their bench." -Frank Vogel

"We came out of the gate with the right energy. I felt like the group that started played well and that we battled through the first half, they made a little run in the third and came back a little bit. They just made more shots than us tonight." -Pacers center Ian Mahinmi

"I’ve never been a part of being at the bottom, East or West, so I don’t want to start doing that now. We’ve got to figure out how to turn that around and it’s got to be ASAP." -George Hill

"I thought our second group came in and gave us a lot of energy. Lou (Williams) came in, gave us energy…Pat (Patrick Patterson), Tyler (Hansbrough) and Terrence Ross. And it came from the defensive end. Right before halftime we had nine stops in a row. That was huge. That’s the way we have to play." -Raptors head coach Dwane Casey

"Our defense is the key to our team, we take pride in it. Once we understand that we can get stops, we become a very confident team on the offensive end." -DeMar DeRozan

Stat of the Game

Toronto had a distinct advantage from the charity stripe on Tuesday. The Raptors went 27-for-34 from the charity stripe (79.4 percent), while the Pacers were just 16-for-23 (69.6 percent). DeMar DeRozan alone got to the line 13 times, converting 10 of his attempts.

Noteworthy

  • Toronto has now won three straight games and four of their last five meetings with Indiana.
  • Despite the loss, the Pacers still lead the all-time series with Toronto, 44-29. They are 26-10 against the Raptors in Indianapolis.
  • While it is important to get off to a good start, after Tuesday's loss, the Pacers are just 9-9 when leading after the first quarter.

Next Up

The Pacers host the New York Knicks on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »