Ian Mahinmi had played 52 playoff games at centre in his National Basketball Association life before Game 4 between the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers.
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The Toronto Raptors not only wrestled home court back in their favour with a win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3, they will be able close the series out at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday with a win in Game 4.
Toronto’s scoring improved in the second quarter, putting up 26 points, but they still couldn’t slow down the Pacers, allowing 29 points for a 57-42 in lead at halftime.
The end result was double technicals to Valanciunas and George and a third tech to Carroll, giving the Pacers a freebie and the ball.
George is the type of player, as we have already seen in this series, that can take over a game at any moment, and don’t expect as many non-calls against him that we saw at the beginning of Game 3. Kyle Lowry and DeMarre Carroll each scored 12 points. Toronto capitalized on the Pacers 12 turnovers for 25 extra points, however, IN garnered more steals (10-8) and blocks (5-3) than did their opponent. The Pacers ranked 23rd in offensive efficiency in the regular season and over the last three games of their first round series with the Toronto Raptors, they’ve shot 49 percent in the first 12 seconds of the shot clock and 30 percent in the last 12 seconds. DeRozan had a mere eight points on 4-for-15 shooting, making neither of his two three-point attempts.
Carroll l said it is the best he’s felt since surgery.
Raptors All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry continued to struggle shooting in this series. The Pacers shot 47.1 percent from the field and were 6 of 16 from beyond the arc.
DeMar DeRozan rediscovered his all-star form, and the Toronto Raptors took control of their playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
No coincidence that during Saturday’s win the Pacers committed a series-low turnover count (12) and moved the ball better than before for their highest assists total (24).
The Indiana Pacers went from being knocked around by the Toronto Raptors and being angry about what had been a nasty one-sided affair the past two games to finally being the aggressors. But it was the other Pacers big man, Ian Mahinmi, who played the big game. They were 17-of-25 on open shots, according to ESPN Stats & Information data.
Enes Kanter had his second straight playoff career high with 28 points for the Thunder, who never trailed in two games in Dallas after the Mavericks evened the series with a one-point win. They took a 71-59 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Marvin Williams had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets.
Both teams have won seven of their last ten games dating back to the regular season. They put the Raptors on their heels and outscored them 50-26 in the paint.
That was the complete opposite of game three, when the Raptors built a 23 point lead in the second quarter and cruised to victory.
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The night was virtually a home game for Casey, who was born in Indianapolis and still has family and friends in the city, many of whom were at the game.
