Game Rewind: Pacers 87, Raptors 98 (Game 2)

After knocking off the second-seeded Raptors in Game 1 of their best-of-seven playoff series on Saturday, the Pacers knew the Raptors would play with added desperation in Game 2. Toronto did just that on Monday night, jumping out to an 18-point lead in the first half and then pulling away in the fourth quarter to even the series with a 98-87 home victory.

The series now shifts to Indianapolis, where the seventh-seeded Pacers will host Game 3 on Thursday evening and Game 4 on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers trailed by eight points entering the fourth quarter, but Toronto put together a 13-2 run just a few minutes into the final period to push the lead back to 18 with 7:54 to play. The Pacers were never able to get within single digits the rest of the way, as the Raptors snapped a surprising streak of four consecutive playoff losses at the Air Canada Centre.

"Usually you walk away from a trip with the series tied 1-1 and feel good about it," Pacers forward Paul George said. "But I'm kind of upset about this one because a lot of the stuff we gave up was preventable.

"...We weren't tied in, I think our focus was lost. We gave up some plays that we really shouldn't. They outworked us. That's the only thing that we could control and we didn't do that tonight."

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The loss spoiled another excellent offensive performance from George. After scoring 27 of his 33 points after halftime in Game 1, the three-time All-Star led all scorers on Monday with 28 points, going 8-for-15 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and 10-for-11 from the free throw line.

"I'm just making it easy, not forcing it," George said. "Understanding this team is so great at loading up and I'm not going to be able to have easy opportunities getting to the rim. So I've got to take the looks that I can get and be confident with them."

Monta Ellis was also solid, scoring 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, but he was the only other Pacers player to score in double figures.

On the other end, the Pacers struggled once again to contain Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas. After collecting 12 points and 19 rebounds in Game 1, the big man from Lithuania posted another double-double on Monday, scoring a playoff career-high 23 points and 15 boards.

MONTIETH: Pacers Have Big Problem in Valanciunas »

Indiana once again did an excellent job defensively on the Raptors' All-Star backcourt, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. After holding the pair to a combined 8-for-32 shooting in Game 1, the Pacers held them to just a 3-of-18 clip and nine total points in the first half on Monday.

They did, however, find a bit of rhythm after halftime, particularly Lowry. The Raptors' point guard scored 13 of his 18 points after halftime and went 10-for-10 from the foul stripe (7-for-7 after halftime) while also collecting seven rebounds and nine assists.

"His numbers didn't say how hard he played," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. "I thought he left it out on the floor; diving on the floor, loose balls, rebounding. He got to the free throw line 10 times. He was really playing with force going downhill and that's what it is going to be about."

DeRozan made 3-of-6 shots in the second half to finish with 10 points.

The Pacers struggled to find any sort of rhythm offensively in the early going of Game 2. Indiana hit just two of its first 14 shots, falling behind 21-7.

The Raptors, meanwhile, came out like a desperate team, and no one was hungrier than Valanciunas. Valanciunas had dominated Game 1 at times, tallying 11 offensive rebounds, but battled foul trouble in the second half of Toronto's loss.

The 7-footer dominated the opening quarter on Monday. Offensively he scored 13 of the Raptors' first 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed three offensive rebounds. On the defensive end, he corralled four more boards, blocked one shot, and heavily contested several others.

Valanciunas was clearly fired up, constantly gesturing to the crowd after each big play. The biggest of them all might have been the foul he drew on George – his second of the night – with 4:34 left in the first quarter that forced the All-Star to the bench.

"It's definitely a lot more physical than the regular season," Pacers rookie Myles Turner said. "The refs are letting a lot more go, so we've got to be just as physical as he is."

Even with a late-quarter boost from Turner, the Pacers shot just 26.3 percent from the field in the opening period, in which the Raptors outscored them 18-2 in points in the paint.

The second quarter didn't start much better. Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross, and Ross again allowed Toronto to stretch its lead to 18 with 8:00 left in the half.

But to their credit, the Blue & Gold bounced back. Indiana reeled off a 15-2 run over a 2:21 stretch to make it a five-point game. George started to heat up over that stretch, sinking a short jumper, draining a pull-up jumper in the lane, and then finally swishing a 3-pointer after a vicious step-back move.

"We played at a faster tempo," Pacers forward Solomon Hill said about the Pacers' comeback. "When we played with a faster tempo, we got the ball out, we attacked them before they could set up. I think that's when we were successful."

The Raptors pushed the lead back to 12 with seven unanswered points, but Indiana clawed back once again, cutting the deficit to just five heading into halftime.

The Pacers remained within striking distance throughout the third quarter, thanks in large part to George, who scored 11 more points in the period on 4-of-6 shooting. But Toronto actually increased the margin slightly over that stretch to take a 74-66 lead into the fourth quarter. They quickly put the game away in the final period.

"I think in the second half they just came out a little more determined," Ellis said after the loss. "They made more plays when they needed to and they got to all the loose balls tonight."

Both teams have injury concerns heading into Game 3, scheduled for Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 PM. Pacers starting center Ian Mahinmi sat out the entire fourth quarter of Game 2 with a sore lower back. Raptors reserve Terrence Ross did not play after halftime due to the NBA's concussion protocol.

The Raptors' bench outscored Indiana's reserves, 45-33. Cory Joseph had 16 points for the Raptors on 6-of-8 shooting, while Patrick Patterson went 5-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from beyond the 3-point arc to finish with 14 points and six rebounds.

The Pacers went just 4-for-20 on the night from 3-point range. George Hill, the team's best 3-point shooter at 40.8 percent during the regular season, was 0-for-3. C.J. Miles, who posted a .367 3-point percentage in the regular season, went 0-for-5.

After being outscored 18-2 in the paint in the first quarter, Indiana played Toronto evenly in that category the rest of the way. Both teams had 28 points over the final three quarters.

Thanks in large part to five offensive rebounds from Valanciunas, Toronto outrebounded Indiana on the offensive glass, 12-6.

At one point in the contest, the Pacers had shot 20 free throws to the Raptors' seven. The Blue & Gold finished the night 25-for-30 from the foul line (83.3 percent), while Toronto went 23-for-25 (92 percent).

"Their group is really tied together, really energetic. They protect the rim really well and they get out and try and guard their own man and they get to shooters on the weak side. You don't win 56 games by accident. That's a great defensive team." -Pacers head coach Frank Vogel

"He's been huge. Literally. We're doing a good job on Kyle and DeMar, but the third guy — Valanciunas — he's what's causing us the problems right now. We've got to figure it out." -George

"We can't be playing the whole game from (behind)...We have to come out with a different type of mindset." -Solomon Hill

"He's playing fantastic. He's rolling hard, he's rebounding the ball extremely well. When teams are trying to take myself and DeMar out, he's got to have big games for us." -Lowry on Valanciunas

"I'm going out there and battling. Nobody's going to take that away from me. I'm going to go and take my heart and battle for every single ball, every possession." -Valanciunas

Valanciunas finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds. The Pacers' three big men who saw the floor on Monday (Turner, Mahinmi, and Lavoy Allen) combined for 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pacers will host the Raptors on Thursday, April 21 and Saturday, April 23. Find out how to get playoff tickets at Pacers.com/Playoffs »

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