Paul George scored 33 points and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Toronto Raptors 100-90 to take the opening game of their first-round playoff series.
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The Raptors never led by more than eight points and headed into the fourth quarter trailing by three.
Individually speaking, Myles Turner contested 16 shots – 3rd most in any of the games on Saturday – while Paul George was second on the Pacers with 12.
He said: “I knew I was going to be able to get some good looks and I just had to be smarter about how I took them”.
The Pacers just twisted the knife from that point on, and a three by Monta Ellis with just under two minutes to play gave the visitors a 13-point lead and had fans heckling Toronto coach Dwane Casey.
With a healthy George, the Pacers hope they have enough to take out the 2nd seed Toronto Raptors in their playoff series.
After being swept by Washington Wizards last year， Toronto’s last playoff victory occurred on April 30， 2014 when the team beat Brooklyn Nets at Air Canada Centre in game five of their first round series.
Of course, it’s hard to get too bent out of shape considering the afternoon that Paul George had. The team’s 20 turnovers and 38 per cent shooting were the two huge differences in the game. On top of that, George got back to being the two-way star that he is, deserving a lot of credit for minimizing DeRozan’s impact. Jonas Valanciunas fouled out with a team playoff-record 19 rebounds and the Raptors ended up with a 52-38 advantage on the glass. They won the first game, that’s all that matters, but it’s the first team that gets to four. The focus now turns to Game 2 on Monday night, because if the Raptors turn in a repeat performance and go down 0-2 with the series shifting to in, then they’ll really be in trouble. And aside from George, the Pacers sport a pretty inconsistent supporting cast. “I’ve been here before being the low seed my rookie year, so this is almost new to me”, George said. Though this was just the first game of the series, it was basically Toronto’s worst nightmare.
When the visitors opened the fourth quarter by missing every shot for the first 5½ minutes, it seemed like the old inability to close had become manifest.
It was down to four when Lowry made one of two free throws but Turner got the lead to six with a cutting dunk. Joseph was one of the few Raptors players who didn’t struggle offensively, connecting on 5-of-6 field goal attempts, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. The Pacers hit 11 3-pointers and outscored the home team by 21 points from deep. “It’s not a year ago; we’re very positive”.
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The Pacers have had a hard time closing out games this year and have lost more than their fair share of nail-biters, but this time the offense and the defense were there to close out a tough playoff game on the road. The Raptors are no strangers to losing in the playoffs, and have vowed to play better as the postseason progresses. The Mavs were also outrebounded 56-33 playing without forward David Lee, who might also miss Game 2 with a plantar fascia injury. With the backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, arguably the best in the league after those dudes from the Bay Area.
