Game Rewind: Pacers 85, Raptors 101 (Game 3)

The Pacers got their deficit down to just 12 after Myles Turner hit a jumper in the fourth quarter, but Toronto responded in force, sinking 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to go up by 18, and going on to defeat Indiana 101-85 in Game 3 of the Round 1 matchup to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

After trailing by 23 in the second quarter, a Pacers comeback was a tall order. Although they made their run in the fourth and outscored the Raptors 23-18 in the third, Toronto's stars, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, each found their touch after being kept in check for the first two games of the series.

DeRozan did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 16 of his 21 points in the first 24 minutes. Lowry tacked on 21 points of his own, while passing out a game-high eight dimes.

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Paul George, who led the NBA in Playoff scoring with 30.5 per game entering the matchup, never found his touch, hitting on 6-of-19 shots, sinking 12-of-12 from the free throw line, and finishing the night with 25 points.

The Raptors' high intensity defense caused problems for Indiana from the start, holding the Pacers to their season-low points in the first half (36) and forcing 11 turnovers early on.

"Once again, it's a playoff series and we are giving the other team that good start and we are playing uphill," Solomon Hill told a group of reporters after the game. "We're not coming out aggressive. We're not coming out swinging. That's nothing against the starters, but I think we can all do better."

Midway through the opening quarter, the Raptors went on a 9-2, then outscored the Pacers by 10 in the second quarter.

The Pacers tried to gain their footing to mount a run, but the Raptors were relentless, leading by as much as 23 in the second quarter.

But out of the locker room, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel decided to switch things up, inserting Myles Turner alongside Ian Mahinmi. Things started to click for Indiana when Turner was the lone big on the floor and flanked by Solomon Hill at power forward. That unit helped cut down on their deficit, outscoring the Raptors by five in the third quarter, and putting the total at 71-59 entering the final 12 minutes.

"We'll consider everything," Vogel said of Turner. "I don't know what our lineup will look like next game. We'll watch tape and evaluate. I thought he had good energy and good confidence about him. We were down 17 so we were going to try something different."

MONTIETH: Pacers Face Adversity Again »

With every bucket, the Gold Out crowd grew louder, sensing a possible comeback.

But when Lowry and DeMarre Carroll drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back plays, it marked the end of the Pacers' comeback bid, with Indiana trailing by 18 midway through the fourth.

Toronto head coach Dwane Casey elected to use the same starting lineup as Game 2, with DeMarre Carroll starting instead of rookie Norman Powell, and the switch paid dividends. With Carroll checking Paul George, DeRozan was able to find more space on offense and not overly exert himself on defense, opening up the floor for the Raptors' offense.

The loss sets the Pacers back 2-1 in the series, and gives control of homecourt advantage back to the second-seeded Raptors.

"It's very disappointing," said George Hill after the game. "We didn't take care of our responsibilities. We didn't do a good job. We had unforced errors, they forced a couple. We've got to do better. All we can do is watch film tomorrow. It's definitely disappointing. We let our fans down. They did a good job of coming out tonight and supporting us."

Myles Turner had his best Playoff game as a pro, scoring 17 points off the bench and pulling down eight rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting.

Jonas Valanciunas continued his rebounding spree. After pulling down 19 in Game 1 and 15 in Game 2, Valanciunas hauled in 14 rebounds on Thursday night.

The Pacers shot 38 percent from the field and hit on 6-of-22 3-point attempts.

Even though Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan got it going offensively, they still had difficult shooting nights. Lowry was 8-of-21 and DeRozan was 7-of-19.

Paul George was 1-of-8 from beyond the arc.

"They outplayed us. They just outplayed us in most areas. We turned the ball over too much. You just have to give them credit." -Frank Vogel

"I like the activity, our intensity and our approach. I think it just set the tone for the entire game. We got some silly fouls, I thought. We have to get away from touch fouls. That really put them in the penalty early. We have to stay away from that, but I liked our intensity. I liked our effort on attention to detail, on the defensive end." -Raptors coach Dwane Casey

"We didn't do our job. We didn't take care of business on our home court. We have to stay positive. We still have a chance to even this at 2-2." -Paul George

"Paul George is a great player. I think the most important thing was to keep him off the free throw line. He still shot 12 free throws tonight, but we tried not to let him get the feel for his shot. If he does get the feel for his shot, he's a beast. I think we just need to keep being physical with him and it's going to take a collective effort." -DeMarre Carroll

Even though the Raptors shot just 41.5 percent from the field, they had 26 more field goal attempts than the Pacers. The extra possessions occurred on turnovers (IND: 16, TOR: 11) and offensive rebounds (IND: 9, TOR: 15).

The Pacers look to even the series with the Raptors on Saturday, April 23 at 3 PM: Find Tickets »

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