Indiana Pacers 101 – Raptors 83: meltdown

The Raptors needed a miracle fourth quarter to snatch victory from the Pacers in Game 5. The tables turned dramatically in Game 6. It was the Pacers’ turn to enjoy an offensive assault in crunch time.

The Toronto Raptors came to Indianapolis in hopes of closing out the series against the stubborn Indiana Pacers. But the scoring woes of the Raptors’ All-Star backcourt were once again glaringly obvious, and no one other than Cory Joseph stepped up. The result was ugliness writ large.

First Half

Toronto jumped on the Pacers early, racing out to an 18-6 lead halfway through Q1. The Pacers were cold and they made some costly turnovers which led to easy buckets. Indiana is a resilient team, and though their main man Paul George couldn’t hit, the unconscious Solomon Hill drained a pair of 3-balls. The momentum turned, as it was the Raptors turn to go frosty when they weren’t turning over the ball.

The disappointing shooting of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan remained front and centre for Toronto. Lowry was compensating for his fruitless efforts from beyond the arc with a boatload of assists, but DeMar had little else to offer.

DeMarre Carroll found his touch inside and out, leading our team with 12 points. Jonas Valanciunas showed flashes of his early-series form, finishing several of Kyle’s fine passes with dunks. Bismack Biyombo was all over the glass, pulling down 9 boards in less than 10 minutes.

The half was there for the Raptors to seize, but they didn’t. A 4-point lead would prove to be grossly insufficient.

Second Half

The third quarter was a back and forth affair, but the Raptors inability to make shots allowed the Pacers to slip ahead. Despite the malfunctioning, which extended to the free throw line, where Toronto made 7 of 12, a Norman Powell flying slam off a turnover brought the Raptors to within a point.

The Pacers then scored the game’s next 18 points.

One could scarcely imagine how badly the next 14 minutes or so would turn out to be. By the time the Pacers emptied their bench with 3+ minutes to go, they had outscored the Raptors 32-5. The final score actually flattered Toronto.

In Sum…

I like Dwane Casey a lot as a coach, but he’s got to find some scoring. Certainly one can blame the defense for much of the second-half woes. Indiana shot 63.6%, including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. I’m not suggesting for a minute there weren’t waaaay too many open looks – there were.

But Kyle and DeMar have to provide the offensive foundation for the Raptors. On this night, they combined for more turnovers (8) than buckets (7). When they struggle, our secondary scorers need to step up, and they didn’t. Terrence Ross hit his only two long balls in garbage time. We don’t need them then, thanks.

Patrick Patterson was badly outplayed at power forward by a rookie, Myles Turner. The funky-haired beast blocked 4 shots.

We’re winning the battle of the centre(s), as both our big men are battling and pulling down their share of boards. That’s the only position in which the Raptors are markedly ahead.

Game 7 is tomorrow at the Air Canada Centre.