Paul George #13 of the Indiana Pacers dribbles the ball as Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors defends in the first half of Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 26, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Bismack Biyombo had 10 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Raptors, who can clinch the first seven-game playoff series victory in franchise history by beating the Pacers in IN on Friday night.
Indiana Pacers forward Solomon Hill shot 4-for-4 from three-point range in a thrilling Game 5 matchup against the Toronto Raptors, but only three of them counted.
“I felt like my normal self”, said DeRozan, who entered the game averaging just 13.3 points while shooting below 30 percent from the field.
“I swear to you, I sat on the bench and I said to myself from the beginning of the game, I don’t know how, I know we’re going to come up with this win”. You get upset with your kids sometimes, you argue with your kids, you go back and forth, but at the end of the day, they’re your guys. I said all game long when we had the lead, it’s a 48-minute game.
Paul George had a huge game for the Pacers, finishing with 39 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, but IN simply did not have enough gas down the stretch, scoring just 12 points IN the final period. “But once again, we failed to live up to that moment”. “So to think about it, to dwell on it, none of us really do that. If we go in there understanding, having that feeling and emotion like it’s our last game, we should be fine”. “I just knew I had to slam it down as hard as I could to get the crowd going”.
The good news for the Pacers is while they couldn’t just hold on to the big lead in Game 5, they’re going home to in for Game 6.
Toronto trailed 35-20 after the first quarter after a 15-2 IN run. Toronto will have to once again show that same heart and toughness that they showed in the 4th quarter in Game 6 and fully exorcise their postseason demons once and for all.
The first-round series between Toronto and IN is now tied at 2-2.
“I wanted (George) to take the last shot if he was open”, Vogel said.
“It means a lot that they’re trusting in me to get the job done”, Powell said.
The Raptors point guard, Kyle Lowry has been fairly absent in this series but expects to come out strong in Game 6.
Scott led the balanced Hawks with 17 points, while Bazemore and Teague had 16 apiece.
Indiana Pacers staff dressed Bankers Life Fieldhouse in gold on Thursday. When DeRozan is attacking like that, Toronto takes on a different character.
With George on the bench, the Raptors closed the gap with a 13-1 run to begin the second, making it 36-33. Going to IN [for Game 6] it is gonna be challenging for us. They were shooting 40 percent in the first four games of their playoff series against the Boston Celtics, well below the 45 percent they shot in the regular season.
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George didn’t want to point fingers, but does believe there’s another level the second unit can take it to.
