The Raptors come into this game with a season-high 9-game winning streak and Indiana is coming off a couple of good wins against Washington and Philadelphia. Indiana has injuries to deal with as do the Toronto Raptors. Indiana is missing Domantas Sabonis who is a key bench big for the Pacers who provides scoring and rebounding. Toronto is missing Norman Powell who injured his ankle in practice which will prevent him from playing in this one. OG Anunoby was suited up to play in this game who has missed 7 games.
DeMar led the team with 24 points on the night as the Raptors extend the streak to 10.
The first quarter the Raptors got off to a quick lead before Indiana got themselves back into the game. Valanciunas was impactful inside and scored 7 points in the 1st quarter. Indiana plays a lot better at home and the crowd was into it right at tip-off. Both teams trading baskets back and forth and Toronto went into the second quarter trailing 25-27. Malcolm Miller started in place of Norman Powell in the lineup and OG did not play in this game probably for injury sake but also, he might play in the game tomorrow night at home against Dallas.
Bench Mob started the fourth quarter and started off strong, but Indiana’s bench is one that plays Jekyll and Hyde. The Indiana Bench plays a lot better at home than it does on the road especially Lance Stephenson who was impactful in this game. Lance was exposing the Raptors on the switches with his strength and speed. One other bench player who is hard not to mention in this second quarter was Al Jefferson. Al Jefferson went at Jakob Poeltl on the block constantly and was scoring in an assortment of ways with his post-ups, push shots and jump shots. Al Jefferson had 15 points and 6 rebounds in the first half to lead the Indiana Pacers. Al Jefferson who sat out most of the games for Indiana since Domantas Sabonis is the first big off the bench and newly added Trevor Booker takes up minutes as well, came out in this game like a real professional and stayed game ready. The bench stayed afloat in this game with Siakam and Wright able to score in semi-transition and in the paint. Dwane had to rely more on his starters to not allow the game to get out of hand. The starters were playing well and near the end of the quarter, JV missed a couple chances at point blank to score which led to Darren Collison running the other way and hitting a buzzer-beater. A four-point swing to close the quarter as Indiana took an 8-point lead into halftime.
Toronto kept fighting throughout the game and stayed within striking distance.
The Raptors lost both quarters in the first half and needed to rely on their size and defense to get back into this game. Toronto is a lot better in the front court compared to Indiana and would have to expose them to get back into this game. As the third quarter started, both teams were trading baskets but then the Raptors were getting more and more chances as JV and Ibaka were crashing the glass constantly. The two bigs hauled down offensive rebounds and scored on put backs numerous times in the quarter. Indiana coaching staff knew that this was going to be a problem but they had a great time keeping the Toronto bigs off the glass in the first half. Thaddeus Young is too small and not physical to keep Ibaka off the glass. Al Jefferson is a shell of himself and can not rebound and jump like he used to so JV was swallowing up rebounds. The Raptors were still hanging on and were a possession or two away from taking the lead. The quarter ended with the Raptors down by 2 heading into the decisive fourth quarter.
Valanciunas was a monster inside in the third quarter as he dunks the ball off a DeMar pass.
The bench had to come and prove why they are ranked the number one bench in the league after being completely outplayed in the first half. They did just that. VanVleet, Poeltl and Miles have struggled in this game, but Miles came through in the fourth. The ball movement of the bench was great as the ball swung around the perimeter to CJ as he hit his first 3 of the night. CJ was not finished there as he lit up the Pacers’ defense for another two threes in a span of 3 minutes. The Raptors finally took the lead 92-88 with less than 6 minutes to go into the fourth. From the look on the Pacers, they were exhausted from all the extra possessions the Raptors were getting and were unable to muster any offense in the fourth.
The starters came back into the game and did their business once again. They played physical and were aggressive attacking the paint. Myles Turner left the game and came back a few times after twisting his ankle. The Raptors took advantage by driving straight into the paint since there are no shot blockers on this team. Al Jefferson couldn’t last in the second half as he was exposed on the pick-and-rolls, outrebounded and could not contest at the basket. The Raptors tired out the Pacers and iced the game by pushing the pace to seal the game off. Delon played fourth quarter minutes with the starters instead of VanVleet who struggled on the night. Lowry hit timely baskets and found his teammates for easy baskets to put this game away. DeRozan had a quiet 24 points on the night and closed it out at the line.
Toronto Raptors Indiana Pacers
106 99
Player of the Game
Jonas Valanciunas
27 minutes, 16 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals, 4 blocks, 0 turnovers, 5/14 shooting, 1/1 3PT, 5/5 FT
JV exposed the weak frontcourt of the Pacers and was a monster on the boards. 8 of his 17 rebounds were on the offensive glass. Offensive rebounding not only helps the Raptors get extra possessions but also forces Indiana to play defense longer and causes mental fatigue. For a team to stop an offense from scoring but unable to complete the defensive stop with a defensive rebound really takes a toll on a team as the Raptors should know as this also one of their weaknesses. JV was perfect from outside and at the line, but his best stat was his 4 blocks. He was a wall at the rim and has learned how to contest without fouling. The Raptors are in the top 10 in blocks in the NBA and JV is a big reason why.
Things To Take Away From This Game
1. Play Big
The Raptors are one of the only teams in the Eastern Conference who play big and stay big. Toronto has efficient and variously skilled big men who can expose smaller front courts like Indiana. The rebounding totals were 58-35 in favor for the Raptors. They outrebounded the Pacers huge and that was the tale of this game. Siakam was great in the second half with his ability to blow by Al Jefferson and stay active on the glass as well. Only Jakob Poeltl struggled on the night but its great to have depth and go with the hot hand.
2. Resilient Raptors
This Raptors team has a knack for staying in games and not getting blown away. The Raptors kept hanging on and hanging on and hanging on. The Pacers were not able to put the game away and did not have the endurance to hold it up for 48 minutes. Toronto were able to respond in the second half and won both the third and fourth after losing the first and second. They grinded on defense and scored whenever they had to. This team will stick around and has proven to be able to win the tougher games on the road as well. A good team win.
3. Masai Ujiri
The turning point of this game was the 3-point shooting from CJ Miles in the fourth quarter. The 3 threes in a span of 3 minutes was huge as the momentum completely shifted towards the Raptors and the home crowd was frustrated. The addition of Cory Joseph, who is now starting for the Indiana Pacers, has made the Pacers better and the addition of CJ Miles for the Raptors has done them wonders. The Cory Joseph trade allowed Wright and VanVleet to develop and brought in a much-needed shooter to space the floor. All in all, great for both teams and for us, CJ Miles is essential for this team going into the playoffs. Masai Ujiri has done it again with a great trade. We believe in Masai.
Cory Joseph, the Toronto native, is now the starting point guard for the Indiana Pacers. Best wishes for the former Raptor.
Pictures courtesy of:
http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapspacers-031518