In Saturday’s playoff Game 4 win over the Toronto Raptors, however, the Pacers found an unlikely scoring duo of George Hill and Ian Mahinmi (both players reaching 22 points).
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It was the complete opposite for the Raptors: DeMar DeRozan struggled shooting again, going 1-for-5 in the first and 4-for-14 overall, finishing the game with eight points, while Kyle Lowry scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Bosh, who averaged 19.1 points this season, has been at many home games during his absence, sometimes watching from the bench, sometimes from the team’s locker room.
When asked after the game what the Raptors can do to change their fate, Lowry was blunt: “Make some shots”. Look for Vogel to continue to use the same lineup that he used tonight featuring Turner at power-forward and Mahinmi at center.
It was a recipe that resulted in George never truly getting comfortable offensively (he finished with 25 points, but only went one for eight behind the arc), while Jonas Valanciunas and Bismack Biyombo were allowed to be bullies in the paint all night.
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.
Game 4 goes Saturday in Indianapolis, then the series shifts back to Toronto for Game 5 on Tuesday.
They must also contend with the Raptors’ All-Star backcourt of Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, who haven’t shot the ball well but each scored 21 in Game 3. Later in the quarter, Ellis capped a 9-0 run that pushed the in lead to 14 points with a 3-pointer with 17 on the shot clock and the Toronto defense having failed to match up.
Following Game 3, it was hard to figure out just what the Pacers were playing for in their playoff series with the Raptors.
Miami will take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 Monday night in Charlotte.
“I don’t believe they’re trying to hurt us, and we’re not trying to hurt them”, Durant said.
IN scored the first seven points, took control with a three-point spree late in the first quarter and led by as much as 25 in the first half. A 20-point showing from the Raptors’ top scorer would likely mean a win for the Raptors in a game that often determines the series victor.
“When I see my teammate in a fight, I’m going to go help him”, Carroll said.
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. The pair combined for just 8-of-27 shooting on Saturday, and Lowry fouled out in the fourth quarter.
“That’s been the plan all series”, George said, “to try to get out and get easy offense, get easy opportunities, strike early, strike quick”. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck attended the game.
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From second-unit depth to their domination at the centre position, the Raptors are finding ways to build leads too big for the Pacers to overcome. The series returns to Bankers Life Fieldhouse Friday for game six.
