Drake was animated as usual in his front-row seat as the second-seeded Raptors took a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.
Advertisement
Shortly after Paul George subbed back in for the Pacers, DeMar DeRozan replaced Terrence Ross on the floor for the Raptors to form another lineup that the team had never used, and coach Casey rode it the rest of the way out.
Powell put an exclamation on the comeback throwing down a monster dunk, much to the delight of the sellout crowd of 19,800 in attendance at Air Canada Centre. “That group was giving it to us physically, they were getting into them, so they were just scraping and that is what the playoffs are about”.
DeMar DeRozan, who has had his name run through the muck through four rather hard games to begin the series, finally saw his shot start to fall and finished with a team high 34 points, which also happens to be a career playoff high for the Raptors’ guard.
“I just felt like my normal self”, said DeRozan, who came in shooting 29.6 percent over the first four games of the series but connected on 10 of 22 shots. “It’s all about patience, you can’t get flustered, you can’t get frustrated, you’ve got to stay the course and that’s what we’re going to continue to do”.
The Raptors had the option of running out the clock to end the game, so the Pacers intentionally fouled DeRozan, who hit two free throw shots for a slim three-point advantage, 102-99. “We had a decent lead, but I thought we could hold up”. Ellis inbounded to George, who fed Solomon Hill, and Pacers players threw their arms up in celebration when his shot from the left side went through the net.
Atlanta not only found its shooting touch in Game 6, but a small ball rotation – and impact player in reserve Mike Scott – that has given Boston all kinds of fits.
The Toronto Raptors outscored the Pacers 25-9 in the fourth quarter, and more than half of those nine points came within the last minute of the game. “We look forward to the next game”.
The series now moves to Indianapolis on Friday for Game 6. “People made fun of me because I said we’re going to ride with the guys that brought us here, that won us 56 games in the regular-season”.
The Pacers looked like the more aggressive team in the first quarter, and took an early lead from the get-go.
The Toronto Raptors opened the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers on a 21-2 run, but their entire fourth quarter was really just one big run. George, for his part, dropped in another monster night, scoring 39 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists. A three-pointer from DeMar DeRozan finally put the Raptors up for the first time, 95-92, with 4:16 seconds left.
DeRozan had missed all eight of his three-point attempts in the series before connecting in the second quarter.
George scored 12 points in the first and the Pacers were 7 of 10 from 3-point range to lead 35-20 after one. Fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry mustered 14 points and five dimes while Jonas Valanciunas hauled 11 points.
Advertisement
PORTLAND, Ore. – Al-Farouq Aminu scored a career-high 30 points and the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away after Chris Paul left with a broken bone in his right hand, beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night to even their playoff series at two games apiece.
