Game Rewind: Pacers 98, Raptors 117

During their recent seven-game winning streak, the Pacers strung together a series of dominant defensive performances. That wasn't the case on Monday night, as the Toronto Raptors (40-27) shot 48 percent from the field and 52 percent from 3-point range in a wire-to-wire 117-98 victory over Indiana (30-36).

Entering Monday's contest, the Raptors had dropped 10 of their last 12 games. Conversely, the Pacers had won 10 of their last 12 and had set a franchise record by holding seven straight opponents under 40 percent shooting before Saturday's loss to Boston.

But on Monday, Toronto looked more like the team that climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference standings earlier this season. The Raptors jumped out to an early 13-6 lead and later scored the first eight points of the second quarter to extend the margin to 13 points.

Indiana closed the half with a 14-4 run to climb back within four points, only to watch the Raptors bury three straight 3-pointers early in the second half to push their lead back to double digits. The Pacers never got within fewer than six points the rest of the way.

Toronto went 12-for-23 from beyond the 3-point arc on the night. They also got to the free throw line 33 times and converted at an 82-percent clip from the charity stripe.

"We’ve got to do a better job of protecting the 3-point line," Pacers center Roy Hibbert said after the loss.

Kyle Lowry led Toronto's potent offensive attack, recording his seventh career triple-double. The Raptors' All-Star point guard very nearly accomplished the feat before halftime, tallying 12 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in just 17:48. He finished the night with 20 points, 11 boards, and 10 assists.

But Lowry was just one of three Raptors players to score 20 or more points on the night. Backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan finished with 22 points, going 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Sixth man Louis Williams finished with a team-high 24 points off the bench on 8-of-17 shooting.

The Pacers lost despite committing a season-low four turnovers, which tied a franchise record. But while they didn't give the ball away, they couldn't get enough shots to drop, going just 2-for-19 from 3-point range.

"I thought we got a lot of good looks and moved the ball," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "We just had a tough shooting night."

George Hill led Indiana with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Rodney Stuckey added 20 points off the bench for the Blue & Gold, while Hibbert tallied 17 points and seven rebounds.

The Pacers now hit the road for a pair of games against Central Division rivals, traveling to Chicago on Wednesday night and Cleveland on Friday.

"Tough challenge, but I think we're up for it," Stuckey said. "We've just got to re-group. We've got a tough one against Chicago."

With Monday's loss, the Pacers have now lost consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 21-23.

Toronto's 117 points were the most by a Pacers opponent at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season and the second-most by a Pacers opponent overall. Indiana allowed 119 points in a loss in Detroit on Dec. 26.

The Raptors outrebounded Indiana, 51-36, the Pacers' widest rebounding disadvantage all season. Toronto only collected seven offensive rebounds, but Indiana only mustered four themselves.

Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds (five of them offensive) to record his 19th double-double of the season.

The Pacers lost despite outscoring Toronto 44-28 in the paint.

"We didn’t get to the 3-point line. They’re great at the three and they are great at drawing fouls and getting to the line." -Frank Vogel

"We didn’t do anything differently tonight that we had in our seven-game winning streak. The difference was Toronto made tough shots. They forced some shots but made them while others we played recently missed those same shots. They’re a tough team. They play tough. They’re good. Give them their due." -Pacers guard C.J. Miles

"He’s a tough player. He can do it all. He does a great job of finding his teammates, but he also hit a lot of big shots tonight. He played well." -Hibbert on Kyle Lowry

"I didn’t care about that. We were winning the game and I was just concerned with playing the right tempo." -Lowry on his triple-double

"That’s the way we have to play. That’s something we have been imploring and we got it together. That was one of the best 48 minutes we’ve had in a while. We’ve got to continue that and keep that focus." -Raptors head coach Dwane Casey

"I thought we did a good job of moving them around, attacking them and being aggressive. All of our bigs were real active on both ends of the floor tonight." -DeRozan

Monday's game was won and lost at the 3-point line. The Raptors outscored Indiana by 30 points from beyond the arc, making 12 triples to the Pacers' two.

The Pacers head to Chicago for their fourth and final regular season meeting with the Bulls on Wednesday night. Tip off is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET.