The Raptors were 3-1 against the Pacers in the regular season, but those games don’t matter quite as much once the playoffs start and you’re locked in to the same schedule as the other team.
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As frustration mounted for the Pacers during a sloppy, faux pas-filled first half, the Raptors seized control and established a 17-point halftime lead-the team’s largest ever in a road playoff game, per ESPN Stats & Info.
The series shifts to the Pacers’ home floor, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, for Game 3 on Thursday night and Game 4 on Saturday afternoon.
Rumors and speculations are circulating that Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan will be headed to a Los Angeles team in his upcoming free agency.
Together, they had the Raptors looking a lot more like that dominant regular-season team.
Speaking to Smith and the rest of the media, Carroll said: “It’s going to be a collective effort and I just have to do my part”. It’s going to be tough.
DeRozan has been crafty all season at drawing contact and getting to the foul line, he’s practically taken up a second residence at the charity stripe.
It also doesn’t seem out of the ordinary to suggest that the Raptors might win the next three consecutive games, either. “George is a great player, and the most important thing is to keep him off the free throw line”. Hitting a couple open looks early in Thursday’s Game 3 may be all DeRozan needs to get going and get back to his usual scoring standards.
Toronto has its fifth playoff series lead ever and needs two more victories to win a series for the second time in franchise history. He had gone 3-for-4 in Game 1 and 2-for-5 in Game 2.
Toronto coach Dwane Casey doesn’t want DeRozan to force shots, and his teammates are confident they’ll come through when the Pacers force DeRozan to give up the ball. The Pacers didn’t exactly blow away their opponents this year, and they were prone to stretches where they’d play bad basketball and lose games they should win. “We won the game, but we can do better”.
“I won’t be happy until we’re done”, Casey said of his comfort level.
Paul George was unstoppable throughout the matchup as he had 33 points, four rebounds and six assists as he shot 12-of-22 from the field.
That development was an overwhelmingly positive one for the Raptors too because they showed a lack of urgency in similar situations at home during Games 1 and 2. “That’s playing right into their hands”, George said.
With the deficit cut, though, Cory Joseph continued to be huge off of the bench and Kyle Lowry started stepping up at the start of the fourth quarter, facilitating, knocking down shots, and creating timely turnovers to extend the lead once again in favor of the Raptors. They outrebounded IN 45-38 overall and 15-9 on the offensive glass.
Kyle Lowry had 21 points (4-for-10 from 3-point range) and eight assists, and Jonas Valanciunas overcame early foul trouble to finish with nine points and 14 rebounds. Things coming together for IN in a confident win wouldn’t be any more of a surprise than the Pacers flaming out for a third straight game.
“We’ve just got to make it a little bit more hard (on George)”, Lowry said.
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As George looks to continue his strong play, the Pacers hope to find an answer for the 7-foot Lithuanian on Thursday night when they try to take a 2-1 series advantage. According to NBA.com’s hustle-tracking stats, the Raptors recovered an average of 5.5 loose balls at Air Canada Centre to kick off the series, which paled in comparison to Indiana’s mark of seven loose balls recovered during those contests. The Pacers committed 17 turnovers and were outscored 26-10 on points off turnovers.
