Game Recap
The Indiana Pacers came into Sunday evening's contest in Toronto to take on the Raptors for the first time since Game 7 of last year's first-round playoff series.
After three days of rest the Pacers expected to come out and play a refreshed high energy game, but that was not the case in this contest. Indiana (35-34) could not thwart Toronto's offense, falling to the Raptors (41-29), 116-91.
Indy came out of the gates strong, earning a 12-7 lead, but Toronto quickly found their stride with an 11-2 scoring run midway through the first. Indiana would continue to struggle from that point forward, as Toronto led 62-45 at the intermission.
The Pacers cut the Raptors' lead down to 11 points in the third quarter, but failed to make any significant run in the second half.
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Coach Nate McMillan was disappointed with the Pacers' lack of urgency against a high caliber team.
"Our motor tonight, in a game that's as important as tonight's game and the rest of the season, I don't have an explanation for that," McMillan said.
Rebounding proved to be another sore spot for Indiana, getting beat on the boards 51-33, including 14 offensive boards for the home team.
Raptors All-Star DeMar DeRozan led all scorers 22 points.
Toronto's bigs also had a strong performances. Jonas Valanciunas notched a double-double by halftime, finishing with 11 points and 13 rebounds. New addition Serge Ibaka added 16 points.
"Their physicality took us out of what we wanted to do offensively," McMillan said. "They pounded the boards. I thought they were attacking. Pretty much, we allowed them to go wherever they wanted to."
Indiana had been limiting their opponents from beyond the 3-point arc recently, but the Raptors would not be denied on Sunday, draining 12 of their 27 attempts from long range.
Indiana's bench struggled as well, seeing only 25 combined points from the second unit before McMillan through in the towel and pulled all his starters midway through the fourth quarter.
Paul George put up a team high 18 points for the Pacers on 14 shot attempts to follow up his season high 39 against Charlotte on Wednesday. George was limited with foul trouble for majority of the game.
"It took me out of my whole game, especially in the beginning when it is one sided," George said. "Guys guarding me, their whole game plan is to be physical and make everything tough and guys don’t get fouls for it...It is frustrating, it's very frustrating."
Thaddeus Young was one of the few bright spots for Indiana, contributing 16 points while converting seven of his nine shot attempts. Jeff Teague distributed a team-high seven assists and scored 16 points of his own in the losing effort.
Inside the Numbers
The Pacers had been undefeated on Sundays this season, going 7-0 on the last day of the week before their loss in Toronto.
Indiana has now lost four consecutive road games.
No player on the Pacers had a positive plus/minus rating, while no player on the Raptors had a negative plus/minus rating.
You Can Quote Me On That
"There was no pressure. We didn't disrupt this team tonight defensively. We kind of allowed them to run their sets, to get to their spots. A good team, they are missing a key guy but still a solid team...We just didn't disrupt enough to cause them to get out of rhythm offensively and when they did miss they were able to get to 14 offensive rebounds." – Nate McMillan
"I thought that they had a lot of second chance opportunities and that was kind of the game. They did a great job of using their five man which caused chain reactions and he (Jonas Valanciunas) was eating the boards up. He did a good job of keeping plays alive." – Paul George
"We got out of character a little bit as far as moving the basketball, the ball was sticking and wasn't getting a good flow of movement into situations we wanted to be in. We have another tomorrow, the (Utah) Jazz are waiting on us and we have to go home be ready." – Thaddeus Young
"It's just knowing that the ball is going to get swung. Just finding a spot and everybody being conscious of moving the ball. If you have a good shot, look for the great shot. I think that's what we have been conscious of and guys being ready to shoot." – DeMar DeRozan
Stat of the Night
The Pacers have now alternated wins and losses in 13 consecutive games, setting a new franchise record.
Noteworthy
- Sunday’s game was the very matchup against the Raptors for the Indiana this season, leaving two more contests between these teams, on March 31 in Toronto and on April 4 in Indianapolis.
- Thaddeus Young knocked down his first 3-pointer since returning from a wrist injury after the All-Star break.
- With the loss, Indiana is now two full games behind the Atlanta Hawks, who hold the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference behind fourth-place Toronto.
Up Next
Indiana returns home to face the Utah in George Hill's first game back at Bankers Life Fieldhouse since joining the Jazz on Monday, March 20 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »