First Thoughts: Raptors 100, Pacers 98
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Let’s take a quick look at how the Indiana Pacers faltered late and suffered a 100-98 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
WHY IT HAPPENED: Rudy Gay made the shot he couldn’t against the Pacers three weeks ago in Memphis. Gay scored 23 points, including 17 after halftime, and knocked down a game-winning jumper over Paul George with 1.7 seconds left in the extra session. DeMar DeRozan had perhaps the best game of his career against Indiana, scoring 22 points and limiting Lance Stephenson’s output. George Hill and Roy Hibbert really struggled, combining for just 15 points on 6-for-17 shooting.
WHAT WE LEARNED: The Pacers went long stretches in this game without scoring effectively. They lacked energy and their defense wasn’t all that sharp at times, but as has been the case all season, they still found a way to keep the game competitive on their home floor. David West reverted to his carry-the-team-on-my-back form, scoring 30 points and coming up with eight rebounds on a night Indiana didn’t control the glass. But with his team ahead 90-88 and 5 seconds left, West made an awful gaffe, and Gay stole his pass near midcourt. Amir Johnson put back his own miss, releasing the shot a tenth of a second before the regulation buzzer, to send the game to overtime.
West’s crunch-time blunder, a combination of mental and physical errors, wasn’t the only disappointment. The Pacers let a bad Raptors team overcome an 11-point second-half deficit and steal a game Indiana never should have lost. The bigger issue is that the bench had a flashback to its early-season form and was worked over by Toronto’s second unit. Indiana’s bench was outscored by the Raptors’ bench 37-16, and Pacers coach Frank Vogel was forced to use all five starters for at least 38 minutes of playing time each on a night Indiana was playing its fourth game in five days. Pacers reserves were -22 in their time on the court, while Toronto’s were +24. That was the difference. Friday’s contest reinforces that the backups still have kinks to work out.
KEY NUMBER: Indiana’s 15-game home winning streak came to an end. It was the Pacers’ first loss at home since Dec. 7.
TURNING POINT: With 1:47 to play in overtime and his team trailing by a point, Jonas Valanciunas snagged an offensive rebound and made a lay-in which put Toronto ahead 98-97. The Raptors used the second life Valanciunas gave them to come up with a key stop as Hill lost the ball out of bounds off his knee with 10 seconds left. That set up Gay’s heroics. Valanciunas had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
NEXT: The Pacers sleep some more in their own beds and get back to work Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
