The Raptors exorcised countless nasty ghosts of the past with a tense victory. The team has won a 7-game playoff series for the first time ever and now gets to face the Miami Heat.
The Toronto Raptors survived a Q4 offensive freeze to hold off a determined Indiana Pacers squad. The Raptors built a huge lead and needed all of it. Mercifully the Pacers couldn’t get closer than 3 points, and a pair of DeMar DeRozan free throws iced the win.
First Half
The Pacers have been able to count on Paul George every game, and his shooting mastery continued. He’s a player you’ve got to chase off the 3-point line or the result won’t be pretty. He made all 3 of his long balls before Raptors defenders got the message and forced him into the paint. He had 17 by the break.
The Raptors have had no idea what they were going to get from DeMar DeRozan. On this night, he showed his chops early with a driving push shot to open the scoring. While his shooting wasn’t money, particularly in Q2, I won’t complain about 15 points.
A major contributor for the Raptors was Norman Powell. The rookie shooting guard had 10 points on only 5 shots, pulled down 3 rebounds and even blocked a shot. This guy has been a serious find. He made up for the donut from DeMarre Carroll.
Jonas Valanciunas was at his battling best. He’s getting so much smarter under our basket, forcing offensive players to shoot over him or dish, both of which are tough choices. Meanwhile he was taking what was given him on offense, and chipped in 10 points and 7 boards.
The Raptors were all over the glass, “winning” that battle 27-18. Indiana was not striving for second-chance points, and pulled down one lonely offensive rebound.
The Raptors went into the dressing room with a 50-44 lead.
Second Half
Neither team could muster any offense early in Q3 until Patrick Patterson got open from deep. He ended with 3 long balls going splash. DeRozan rediscovered his shot-making and ability to get to the free-throw line. His 13 points were critical.
The Raptors appeared to have this one sewn up, with a 14-point lead heading into Q4. Both teams scuffled mightily early, which suited Toronto much better than Indy. Norman Powell’s corner 3-ball was the Raptors’ first make, after nearly 4 minutes. When Cory Joseph drained a jumper for a 16-point margin, the game seemed over.
Not so fast. The Pacers began to contest the ball well above the arc, with their big men taking away our guards’ space. Turnovers had not been a Raptors problem until now. Indy couldn’t miss their shots, but our guys could. When DeRozan was stripped of the ball in the backcourt by George, who then made a basket while falling, disaster seemed inevitable. Improbably, a zebra got one right. George was nailed for pushing DeRozan with his off-arm, and the bucket was waved off.
Toronto still couldn’t nail down the victory, and a couple of critical turnovers by Paul George were needed before this thing finally ended.
In Sum…
The Raptors defense deserves credit for making the Pacers uncomfortable all night. There were precious few open looks for Indiana and lots of changed shots. DeRozan’s complete game brilliance was magnified by his two blocked shots and five rebounds.
Kyle Lowry shot like he’s got his eyes closed. After 4 more misses from deep, he ended the series a grisly 16.3% on 3-balls. He handed out 9 dimes, so that part of his game still functions.
Jonas Valanciunas ended with 15 rebounds, 6 of them on offense. Biyombo pulled down 11.
The Raptors don’t get much time to rest. Miami is here tomorrow night.