Raptors 101, Pacers 85: Statement Sent!

The Raptors needed to demonstrate they were over their nervousness, and ready to dominate. They did.

History was against them. Critics were against them. The fan base was nervous with guarded optimism. The Toronto Raptors were expected to lose. They won. Big!

There’s no other way to put it: this was a good old fashioned butt whipping. Indiana lead for about 3 minutes and 30 seconds. It was all Raptors from there. Toronto would lead by 7 after the first quarter, and open up a lead of 23 points without ever looking back once! The Pacers would try to make a run several times in the game, but could not get the lead back to single digits.

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The highest scoring backcourt in the Eastern Conference of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry officially shook off the rust of the first two games, and combined to score 42 points (21 apiece for the dynamic duo). DeMarre Carroll showcased why he was signed for $60 million in the offseason, scoring 17 points and locking down Paul George for the majority of the game. And Cory Joseph showed his championship poise by making timely plays and simply being a wizard with his ball handling skills.

It was Toronto’s most complete post-season game in franchise history, and a message sent loud and clear: their season wasn’t a fluke and their past doesn’t define them.

Review of Keys to the Game:

Make Valanciunas a superstar. Early foul trouble took JV out of his rhythm offensively, but he was still a beast on the boards with 14 rebounds to go along with his 9 points. As expected, Indiana’s bigs couldn’t necessarily stop Jonas, but they were able to send a second defender on his weak side. Expect adjustments from Dwane Casey for Game 4.
Make DeRozan a facilitator. I call this one a fail, only for the fact that DeRozan got hot early to break out of two-game scoring slump. 21 points off of a 7-19 field goal percentage isn’t really efficient, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from the two-time All Star. Like he said after Game 2, it was a scary sight for the Pacers once he got going, getting to the free throw line 9 times, making 7 of them.
Shut down Paul George! I have to admit, this one was mission accomplished. PG13 might have gotten 25 points, but he was 6 of 19 from the floor and 1 for 8 from three-point range while doing it. Credit DeMarre Carroll, who played 30-plus minutes for the first time since December, for getting into George early and often. George picked two early fouls and a technical foul in the first quarter, and once he was off his game, the Raptors took advantage. Point of fact, George was also held scoreless in the third quarter.

Prediction Recap

The Raptors were more than over their jitters – they played like a team that knew they were going to win. They jumped on the Pacers early and once they were up big, they sustained it for the entire game. The Raptors biggest lead was 23 points, and that lead never got less than 11 points. I also expected DeMar to bounce back, which he did. I wasn’t expecting Lowry and Carroll to bounce back in a big way, with Lowry dropping 21 points and 8 assists and Carroll adding 17 points. Paul George was powerless to keep the Pacers in the game, and JV was solid, but game changing.

But it’s the final result that really matters, and the Raptors took a 2-1 series lead for the first time in 15 years, notching their 5th playoff road win in the process.

Game 4 is on Saturday, with the Raptors looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead before heading back to the Air Canada Centre next Tuesday.

Let’s Go Raptors!

Next: Raptors Must Advance Past First Round

All stats are provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise stated. Matthew Allman is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. For more coverage on the Toronto Raptors, follow Matthew on Twitter @ShadowRapsFan and also follow @RaptorsRapture for the latest in Raptors news.