DeMar DeRozan scored a playoff-best 34 points to help Toronto Raptors fight off Indiana Pacers 102-99 in game five of their seven-game National Basketball Association playoff series on Tuesday night.
Advertisement
DeMar DeRozan led the way with 34 for the Raptors, who had to overcome a quiet game from Kyle Lowry.
With the win, the Raptors take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The two teams would then trade blows down to the final buzzer, when a Solomon Hill three-pointer was waved off for being on his fingertips a fraction of a second too long, resulting in a 102-99 Raptor victory and a 3-2 series lead in their favor.
DeRozan also improved his shooting, going 10-for-22 (45.5 percent) from the field, compared to the 21-for-70 (30.0 percent) he shot entering the game. “It’s all about patience, you just have to stay the course”.
With the Raptors holding a three-point lead with less than 10 seconds to go, the Pacers had possession and an opportunity to tie the game. “It’s very bad to have a chance to win on the road and then come back home, but we failed to live up to the moment”. Head coach Dwane Casey said Powell was supposed to foul Paul George, who received the inbound pass with 2.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, if he dribbled. “Whenever I can slow the game down and really just see plays ahead of time…as the game was going I was just seeing plays ahead of time, opening up, and that’s when I know I’m at my best”. Up by four, 100-96, with 20 seconds left, Indiana’s Solomon Hill connected on a left corner three to pull the Pacers within one.
Game 6 will be in IN, but this one was a stomach punch.
A double-double for the big fella, ten points, 16 rebound and all kinds of energy.
The Pacers had the ball under the Raptors’ basket with 2.7 seconds left.
A group, which included Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Bismac Biyombo and Norman Powell helped Toronto battle back from a 90-77 third-quarter hole to tie the game 92-92.
But he wasn’t content with just sitting courtside and being annoying as a group of more athletic guys won a basketball game so he made a decision to needle Paul George via social media. IN scored only nine points in the entire fourth quarter, and seven of those came in the final two minutes of the game.
Early in the first quarter, DeRozan scored six straight points as Toronto went on an 11-0 run, cutting Indiana’s lead to six. It took Powell accepting the challenge of guarding George, who scored only two of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, while the other four defenders played on a string.
That time finally came on Tuesday night in Game 5.
Celtics star Isaiah Thomas, who averaged 35 points in two victories at Boston that evened the series, managed only seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Advertisement
Boston shot 38-percent from the floor and 24-percent from 3-point range. The team will now attempt to clinch the series on the road in Friday’s Game 6, which takes place at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
