Game Rewind: Pacers 107, Raptors 104

The Pacers are officially on a roll. Indiana (11-8) won its fifth straight game on Friday night, using a balanced effort to handle the Toronto Raptors (11-7) in a 107-104 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Pacers have now won five straight games, their longest winning streak of the season.

Victor Oladipo had a team-high 21 points to lead six Pacers players in double figures, but it was Lance Stephenson who carried Indiana to victory down the stretch.

Tied at 92 with midway through the fourth quarter, the Pacers took the lead for good on Thaddeus Young's three-point play. After two free throws by Myles Turner, Stephenson took over.

First, the fan favorite buried a 3-pointer from the right wing, stretching out his arms in celebration as the ball swished through the net. Then, he grabbed a demonstrative defensive rebound, dribbled back down the court and buried another triple from the left wing, forcing a Toronto timeout and sending the near-capacity crowd into hysterics.

"I get my energy from the crowd," Stephenson said after the game. "When the crowd tells me 'Let’s go, get it going,' I just feel like the power is in me."

The Blue & Gold seemingly had locked up a victory at that point, but Toronto reeled off eight unanswered points to make it a one-possession game with under two minutes to play.

Once again, Stephenson had an answer, this time knocking down a three from the left corner to push the lead back to six. But the Raptors rallied once more, as dunks by Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell made it a 106-104 game with 31.8 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Stephenson's contested jumper came out short as the shot clock expired, springing the fastbreak for Toronto. But All-Star DeMar DeRozan missed a layup in traffic and Turner secured the rebound for Indiana.

Darren Collison made just one of two free throws on the other end, but Fred VanVleet missed a three at the buzzer and the Pacers survived to come away with the win.

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Stephenson scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and also collected six of his seven rebounds in the final period.

"He was making plays in the fourth quarter that I think broke Toronto's runs," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said after the win. "We put the ball in his hands and he did a good job of shooting with confidence and that was the difference in the game."

Carrying a four-game winning streak into the game, the Pacers kept rolling in the opening minutes of Friday's contest. Toronto actually scored the game's first five points, but the Blue & Gold quickly answered with a 12-0 run, knocking down five consecutive shots.

The Raptors rallied to tie the game at 14, but Indiana responded once again. Oladipo, Young, and Darren Collison took turns knocking down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to spark a 13-0 Pacers run.

Toronto's second unit, however, closed the opening frame with an 11-2 run to help the visitors climb back within striking distance.

The Raptors continued their charge, reeling off an extended 17-3 spurt as the Pacers endured a prolonged shooting slump, missing 20 of 24 shots at one point. Toronto, which had trailed by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, led by as many as 12 in the second and took a 60-50 lead into the break.

Indiana's wings sparked a quick comeback for the home team in the third quarter. Oladipo scored the Pacers' first seven points of the second half and then Bojan Bogdanovic scored their next eight, tying the game at 65 with a three-point play with 6:48 remaining in the third.

The Pacers re-took the lead on a pair of free throws by Domantas Sabonis with 3:20 left in the frame and entered the final quarter with an 81-80 advantage.

The hosts quickly extended their lead to six points and remained in front until VanVleet's layup tied the game at 92 with 6:06 remaining.

"We talk about the three C's of being calm, clear and consistent and they showed that in the second half," McMillan said. "They calmed down to start the third quarter and regained the lead.

"We were clear with what we wanted to do in attacking them and we stayed consistent with that. That showed growth against a very good team in our execution."

Bogdanovic finished with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Collison added 17 points and eight assists. Sabonis had 13 points and six rebounds despite going just 2-for-10 from the field. Young was the final Pacers player in double figures, stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and four steals.

All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry narrowly missed out on a triple-double for Toronto, finishing with 24 points 10 rebounds, and eight assists. VanVleet and Powell each added 16 points off the bench for the Raptors.

In a scheduling oddity, the Pacers will be back in action at The Fieldhouse on Saturday, hosing the East-leading Boston Celtics on the second night of a rare home back-to-back.

The Pacers held DeRozan to 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting. DeRozan had scored 20 or more points in nine consecutive games before an 18-point performance in a loss at New York on Wednesday.

Indiana entered Friday leading the NBA in team 3-point percentage (.404) and went 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) from beyond the arc against Toronto.

The Pacers outrebounded Toronto 10-7 on the offensive glass, just the second time in the last 12 games that they've collected more offensive boards than their opponent.

Sabonis set career highs for free throw attempts and makes, going 9-for-12 from the charity stripe. His most prolific previous night at the line came on Oct. 21 at Miami, when he went 6-for-8.

VanVleet's 16 points were a new career high. The second-year guard had only scored in double figures in three games this season entering Friday.

The Pacers held on for the win despite committing nine turnovers in the fourth quarter, three by Stephenson. When they weren't turning the ball over, however, they were remarkably efficient, converting 9-of-13 shots in the final frame.

"It was one of the better defensive jobs I've seen on DeRozan since I've been here, and we've had some really good defenders in a Pacers uniform these last four or five years. With DeRozan, you try to stay in front of him, contest his shot and keep him off the free throw line, which is what Bojan did." -McMillan on Bogdanovic's defense

"We just need Lance in general to play well in general. It helps us a lot and he's big for us. He was huge tonight, that was huge for us." -Oladipo

"I felt like I could contribute in other ways than scoring tonight. I struggled shooting, but my teammates did a great job (picking me up)." -Sabonis

"We shot ourselves in the foot. Some of those were self-induced, some of them were good defense. You can't beat a good team like Indiana with 20 turnovers for 30 points." -Raptors head coach Dwane Casey

"It happens, we play so many games that no one is going to play perfect every night. I played hard and tried to cheer my teammates on, but you know me and you understand when I have a game like this, I bounce back from it." -DeRozan on his offensive struggles

The Pacers forced the Raptors into 20 turnovers, which they converted into 30 points on the other end. It was the fifth time this season that an Indiana opponent had 20 or more giveaways in a game.

The Pacers host Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 8:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »