Game Rewind: Pacers 110, Raptors 106

The Pacers got a big win on Wednesday, but it wasn't without a big loss.

Indiana successfully defended homecourt against the Raptors, winning 110-106 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but they also lost All-Star Victor Oladipo to a serious right knee injury late in the second quarter, when he left the court on a stretcher.

"It's tough watching our best player go down," said Darren Collison after the game. "Not just because he's our best player, but because he's one of the best people to be around and just his personality, how positive he is, you just hate to see that happen to him."

Without Oladipo, the Pacers still had a game to take care of against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and it didn't come easy.

After trailing by double digits for much of the game, the Raptors (36-14) charged back in in the fourth quarter, making it a 98-97 Pacers advantage when Serge Ibaka — who finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds — connected on a pull-up jumper with 4:20 remaining.

But the Pacers (32-15) had a quick answer, as Thaddeus Young converted on an and-1 to send the home crowd into hysterics.

With under two minutes to play, Collison ran the pick-and-roll and delivered a jumper from the elbow, putting Indiana up 103-99.

Following a Raptors miss, Collison attempted to work his magic again, but his jumper came up short and was rebounded by the Raptors, who quickly signaled for timeout with 1:11 left in the game.

Out of the stoppage, the Raptors got a quick bucket from Ibaka, bringing it back to a one-possession game.

But with the ball back in the hands of the Pacers, Myles Turner — who notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds — baited Pascal Siakam into a foul and made both free throws, putting Indiana back ahead 105-101 with 48.1 seconds left.

The Pacers successfully forced a Raptors miss, but the rebound ended up the hands of sharpshooter Danny Green, who canned a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with 31.6 seconds remaining.

After a Pacers timeout, the Pacers went right back to Thad Young, who spun around the smaller Kyle Lowry and dropped in a floater to push Indiana's lead back up to three with 10.8 second remaining. The bucket was the final mark on one of Young's finest games of the season, a 23-point, 15-rebound performance to lead the Pacers in the emotional win.

"What I wanted to do is just go out there and continue to impose my will on the game," said Young at his locker. "Try to impact the game in several different ways. Whether it's rebounding, scoring, making the extra pass, or playing defense on certain guys."

The Raptors were able to get a shot for Green in the corner off the inbounds play, but his attempt rimmed out and touched the top of the backboard, giving possession back to Indiana where the Pacers were able to close out the game at the free throw line, wrapping up the four-point victory.

The Pacers began the game with a dominant defensive performance in the opening quarter, holding the visiting Raptors to just 16 points over the first 12 minutes.

After a dunk from Ibaka with 4:32 remaining in the first quarter, Indiana's defense held the Raptors without a field goal for the rest of the frame, using a 9-2 run to build their 24-16 lead.

Indiana opened the second quarter the way it finished the first, scoring four more unanswered points before the Raptors started to work their way back.

Following a 3-pointer from Domantas Sabonis, former Pacer C.J. Miles converted an and-1 to bring the Raptors' deficit to just seven.

But with 4:05 remaining in the half, Oladipo attempted to breakup a full-court pass, falling to the ground in the process. After several minutes of being examined by the team physicians, Oladipo left the game on a stretcher with the entire Fieldhouse chanting "Ola-Di-Po."

In the wake of the frightening moment, the Pacers were still able to close the half strong, getting a late three from Cory Joseph to grab a 59-47 advantage.

The Pacers started off the second half slowly, going without a field goal for the first 2:20 of the third quarter as Toronto began to close the gap. With 9:03 left, Nate McMillan called for timeout when a Fred VanFleet three capped what had been a 10-3 Raptors run to start the quarter.

Following McMillan's timeout, the Pacers broke out of their brief slump, responding with a rollicking 12-2 run to reassert control over the game.

The Pacers maintained their lead for the entire quarter, but Raptors guard Norman Powell brought the score to single digits with a late layup to make it an 84-75 Pacers lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Raptors started the final quarter hot, striking the lead down to just three when Powell made a 3-pointer with 7:09 remaining in the game.

Moments later, it was Ibaka doing the scoring, as a jumper from the forward closed the gap to just one point, setting up the thrilling finish at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"(Toronto) is a good team, we struggled against them all season long," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said after the win. "And I thought our guys tonight really came together."

The Pacers were able to make a mark from the free throw line, connecting on 21-of-25 attempts from the stripe.

Both teams took care of the ball, as the Raptors turned it over just nine times, while the Pacers turned it over on seven occasions.

Nate McMillan earned his 600th career victory as an NBA head coach. He is now the 26th coach in NBA history to reach 600 career wins.

“I just slipped and knew it was serious. Obviously. We’ll see what tomorrow shows and go from there. My teammates stepped up earlier this season and everyone has the utmost confidence going forward.” -Victor Oladipo

“We just tried to stick together is one of the biggest things. We always want to stick together through thick and thin. We know with Vic going down, it was definitely going to be tough. But we want to keep fighting for him.” -Thaddeus Young

“It’s going to be all heart from here on out. We’re not going to make any excuses. We don’t care who steps in, who’s out, we’re trying to win a ball game and we’re not going to look back and see what we could have done. We’re trying to win now and that’s what it is.” -Darren Collison

Thaddeus Young's 15 rebounds were one shy of his career high of 16 and were the most he's ever recorded as a member of the Pacers.

Following a trip to Memphis on Saturday, the Pacers return home to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to face Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Monday, Jan. 28 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

Jack's Donuts: Visit your local Jack's Donuts the day after a Pacers victory and mention the Pacers win to receive a free twelve ounce coffee with any purchase. Visit JacksDonuts.com to find the Jack's Donuts nearest you.