When George doesn’t get help the Pacers aren’t as effective as evidenced by the Raptors 98-87 win in Game 2.
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The 2014 MVP scored 20 points in the first half, when the Thunder led by as many as 19 points on their way to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I spent a lot of good energy on him tonight, and my wife is here, so maybe I will get a good massage”, Carroll said. “(This series) is going to be tough.
“We have done a good job on Lowry and DeRozan, but we have to take better care of the ball”.
The playoff-challenged Raptors desperately needed something to go right. 10 for 37 in two games.
The same thing happened to Harden in Houston’s Game 1 loss to Golden State, a shocking turn over events considering Harden and DeRozan lead the league in free throw attempts.
DeRozan was excellent from the opening tip, scoring 12 points in the first quarter on his way to by far his best performance of the playoffs.
Game 4 is Saturday in Indianapolis.
Which brings us to what should be a disadvantage for Toronto, but throughout the season has not been.
Sure, they have a chance at beating the Cavs and advancing to the NBA Finals, which would be an wonderful accomplishment in itself, but I’d say the chance is about a 35% one.
DeRozan’s early scoring flurry spurred a 13-4 first-quarter run, which gave Toronto a 21-13 lead.
Leading the Pacers in the losing effort was All-Star forward Paul George, who exploded for 28 points, that came along with four rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
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.
It will be the second straight game that last year’s MVP has missed after he was injured in the series opener. Easier said than done, but this Toronto squad had held George to a low shooting percentage during the regular season for all it’s worth.
“When I play well, I don’t throw a party for myself afterward”, Durant said after his 34th career 30-point postseason game. The 56-26 Raptors are the number 2 seed, and if they again disappoint in the first round, stuff is gonna go down. While they did not post huge offensive numbers, the team outrebounded IN by 11 boards while also outshooting them. Early in the game, a Pacers fan chucked a mini-basketball that hit Casey in the head.
He missed his last five shots in the second quarter and was called for his third foul in the final seconds, nearly getting a technical for yelling at lead referee Mike Callahan while walking off the court at halftime. IN and Toronto are meeting for the first time in the playoffs.
DeMarre Carroll scored 17 points for Toronto, which took a 10-9 lead and never trailed again.
After the Pacers’ practice, Mahinmi shared how he will prepare for Thursday’s game. It was his second trip to Indy in less than three weeks.
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In the first quarter, the Pacers got things started when George Hill buried a three to ignite the Gold Out crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Thursday was the fifth anniversary of George’s home playoff debut. If the Pacers are going to move on to the second round, they will have to get more of the same during the rest of the series. Indiana’s worst playoff loss on its current home court was 110-79 to Boston in 2005. The rookie big man went off for 17 points and eight rebounds.
