Raptors: Winners and Losers from tight victory against Pacers

The Toronto Raptors needed everyone from starters like Precious Achiuwa and OG Anunoby as well as bench players like Svi Mykhailiuk to step up on Saturday night. They were playing a desperate Indiana Pacers team that was coming back home after some brutal road losses, and that desperation helped them play a very physical game.

The Raptors and Pacers looked like two light heavyweight boxers, trading haymakers and turnovers in a game between two teams who were totally out of stamina. The Raptors eventually managed to come alive offensively in the fourth quarter and pull off a 97-94 victory.

The Raptors got a couple of standout performances from their stars, as Scottie Barnes put together yet another double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds and Gary Trent Jr. proved his quality on both ends by making some clutch shots late and putting on another quality show on defense.

Despite the poor total offensive showing, there are some Raptors players who played a solid game in their slugfest with Indiana. Still, the only reason Toronto didn’t totally pull away was the fact that some members of the squad were just a bit subpar.

Winners and Losers after the Toronto Raptors defeated the Magic.

Winner: Svi Mykhailiuk

Mykhailiuk has seen inconsistent playing time over the last few games, but the Raptors leaned on him a bit more in the second night of a back-to-back. The Ukrainian sharpshooter had perhaps his best game as a Raptor, as he kept the team in the game during a very uneven second quarter.

Svi Mykhailiuk was making clutch shots for the Toronto Raptors.

In 22 minutes, Mykhailiuk made six of his 10 shots and two of his four 3-point attempts to tally 16 points on the evening. With Pascal Siakam and Yuta Watanabe returning to the fold soon, Svi is doing everything he can to prove to Nick Nurse that he should stick in the rotation.

Loser: Precious Achiuwa

Achiuwa, still in his second season, is starting to run into some difficulties, particularly when it comes to finishing at the rim. While Achiuwa looks like a future All-Star at his best, Raptors fans saw the worst of Achiuwa against Indiana, and the results were hard to stomach at times.

Achiuwa made just two of his nine shots, once again showing that he has a legitimate issue with finishing at the rim. Compounding those mistakes by being too aggressive in transition and turning the ball over also helps no one. Achiuwa needs to calm down, as he can’t afford too many performances like that.

Winner: Khem Birch

The wily veteran took advantage of a poor performance from Achiuwa by reminding the Raptors that they can win games with a traditional center anchored to the low post. Birch didn’t dominate the stat sheet, but his impact was felt when Precious was relegated to the bench.

Khem Birch was rock solid for the Toronto Raptors.

Birch totaled just seven points and six rebounds in this game, but he provided solid interior defense and finishing against a daunting frontcourt. That might be enough to eventually take the starting job away from Achiuwa.

Loser: Myles Turner

Turner scored 40 points in Indiana’s loss against the Wizards. Since then, Turner has totaled just 38 points, including 20 in two games against Toronto. Barnes, Birch, and Achiuwa apparently are too much for Turner to handle.

The Pacers are now 1-6 and after neglecting to trade Turner in the offseason, his value is only dropping.