Raptors-Pacers Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Nov 13 2012 12:41AM

Less than two weeks ago, the Indiana Pacers opened 2012-13 by beating the Toronto Raptors in the waning seconds.

The matchups aren't usually that close in Indianapolis.

Paul George looks to follow up his best performance of the young season Tuesday night by helping the Pacers extend their home winning streak over the Raptors to eight games.

Indiana (3-4) has won four in a row overall versus Toronto (1-6) after George Hill scored the decisive basket with two seconds left in a 90-88 road win Oct. 31.

The Pacers have won 24 of 31 all-time home meetings, including seven in a row while averaging 115.3 points and shooting 49.4 percent from the field.

George is making 49.2 percent of his shots to average 13.8 points with 7.0 rebounds in six career games against the Raptors, totaling 14 and 15, respectively, at Toronto.

The swingman enters this meeting coming off a season-high 20 points with seven rebounds and three assists in Saturday's 89-85 win over Washington.

George has failed to get back-to-back 20-point games over his previous nine attempts in two seasons, averaging 9.9 points in those subsequent contests.

He may have a better chance at avoiding a similar fate after adjusting his pregame ritual following a talk with coaches. George made 8 of 12 shots from the field against the Wizards after making 39.2 percent over the first six games.

"Been frustrated all season long," said George, who hit the gym early for additional weightlifting and shooting Saturday. "Shots not going down. I had to switch something up.

"That's something that sticks out, when someone tells you need to be more efficient."

Despite ending a three-game slide against the Wizards, the Pacers are still adjusting without Danny Granger, who is sidelined three months due to a knee injury. He's led the team in scoring in each of the last five seasons.

Indiana ranks near the bottom of the NBA with 90.4 points per game.

"We're in a figure things out kind of mode," coach Frank Vogel said.

Hill is hoping another meeting with the Raptors can get him untracked after being limited to eight points by Washington following a total of 49 over the previous two games. The guard is averaging 18.0 points in three home matchups versus Toronto.

The Raptors are allowing an average of 108.0 points while losing all three of their road games so far. Their overall slide reached four games Monday, when they squandered an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost 140-133 in triple-overtime to visiting Utah.

"It didn't go our way but our guys fought," coach Dwane Casey said. "Anyone who says we didn't fight did not see that basketball game. It just did not go our way."

DeMar DeRozan leads Toronto with 20.7 points per game, and he's looking to build on his career high-tying 37 from Monday. The swingman has averaged 12.6 points over nine meetings with Indiana.

Jose Calderon, who had 20 points and 17 assists against the Jazz, scored eight points and dished out 14 assists in a 103-98 loss in the most recent visit to Indianapolis on April 9.

DeRozan leads Raptors past Pacers, 74-72

By JIM JOHNSON
Posted Nov 14 2012 1:00AM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Toronto Raptors had all of the excuses in the world. The Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, didn't.

Jose Calderon scored with 4:05 left in the first quarter to give Toronto a 19-17 lead and the Raptors led the rest of the way, holding on to beat the Pacers 74-72 on Tuesday night to snap a four game skid.

DeMar DeRozan scored 15 points and Calderon had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as Toronto had a franchise-low five points in the fourth quarter.

"We were tired," Calderon said. "I think that's why we started missing shots and making bad decisions. I think everybody started getting into a little bit of a rush because we were trying to win the game, but maybe the legs weren't there anymore."

The Raptors, on the back end of their third back-to-back of the season, lost to the Utah Jazz 140-133 on Monday and arrived in Indianapolis at 3 a.m. before playing the Pacers.

Toronto was also short-handed with injuries to Kyle Lowry (sprained right ankle), Landry Fields (right hand/wrist) and Alan Anderson (sprained left foot).

"We were exhausted," DeRozan said. "But it's about gutting it out. We had to rely on something, and it wasn't our offense tonight. It was all mental and heart."

DeRozan and Calderon each had 10 points in the first half for the Raptors, who led 69-58 heading into the fourth and hit only one field goal the rest of the way, also a franchise low.

"We were doing a good job for like three quarters, three quarters and a half," Calderon said. "There's always those few minutes, five, six minutes and the other teams make a huge run and just lose it."

Things were different against the Pacers (3-5).

George Hill scored 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, and Paul George had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead the Pacers, who have lost four of the last five.

Indiana went on a 9-0 run in the fourth and pulled to 74-72 with 1:02 left in the game. Neither team scored again.

"We got good looks at the end, but it was really frustrating that we couldn't get the ball to go down," Hill said. "Tonight it seemed like we were lacking energy, not as individuals, but as a group."

The Pacers missed five shots in the remaining 22 seconds with a chance to tie or take a lead.

"It was hard for us to put the ball in the hole," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We've got multiple guys in shooting slumps right now. We're getting a number of open looks at the rim and they're not going down."

The Pacers shot 32 percent against the Raptors and were 5 for 24 in the fourth quarter.

The Pacers continue to struggle without forward Danny Granger, who is expected to miss up to three months with a left patellar tendinitis.

When it was over, Calderon threw his hands up in the air as the Raptors finally captured their second win of the season.

"I was really happy to get the win," Calderon said. "It was crazy. We were hitting people, but the ball always went back to the white team and I was like, `this cannot be possible."'

The Raptors went on a 15-4 run at the end of the first quarter to take a 29-21 lead.

The Pacers missed four shots and turned the ball over on an offensive foul by Roy Hibbert while DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani each hit two buckets to contribute eight points in the run.

That came after the Pacers jumped to a 9-2 lead at the start of the first quarter in what looked like a promising start. Lance Stephenson scored five points in the early spurt on a 3-pointer and a layup. David West scored and George hit two free throws.

The Pacers eventually a 13-4 lead before the Raptors went on a 10-0 run to regain the advantage.

Calderon hit a jumper, a technical free throw and a 3-pointer, and DeRozan scored back-to-back shots in the run that gave the Raptors their first lead of the game

And the Raptors never let up. While the Pacers were taking shots that hit the edge of the rim or that didn't hit the rim at all, the Raptors maintained the lead.

It was by far not a half the Pacers were looking for, but a half the Raptors could use to bounce back from a 140-133 loss in three overtimes the night before.

The Raptors led 46-36 at halftime and things didn't get any better for the Pacers in the second half.

Indiana missed four shots on the first three possessions of the second half and Dominic McGuire and Jonas Valanciunas scored to extend the Raptors' lead to 50-36 before George hit a 3-pointer to make it 51-39.

Then West hit two free throws and Hill hit a shot to cut the Toronto lead to 51-43.

But it didn't take long for the Raptors to take back the momentum.

Calderon and Bargnani hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 57-43.

DeRozan hit two free throws before the Pacers scored five consecutive points to pull to 59-50 with 4:20 left to go in the third quarter.

Hill scored a technical free throw and Stephenson and Hibbert each scored next to the basket.

But, again, the Raptors regained the momentum.

Amir Johnson was fouled with 4:20 left, made the first free throw and missed the second. Calderon grabbed the rebound and drove to the basket and was fouled and went to the free throw line to extend the lead to 64-52.

The Pacers committed turnovers on the next two trips down the floor and then Linas Kleiza scored on two free throws to make it 64-52 with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

NOTES: Pacers F Danny Granger remained out with left patellar tendinitis. ... Toronto G Kyle Lowry (sprained right ankle) and F Landry Fields (right hand/wrist injury) didn't travel with the Raptors and, instead, the two traveled to New York to see a specialist for another opinion on their injuries. ... Raptors G Alan Anderson was out with a sprained left foot.

Notebook: Raptors 74, Pacers 72

Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com
Posted Tue Nov 13, 2012 10:55 PM - Updated Tue Nov 13, 2012 10:55 PM

THE FACTS: It's entirely possible no team ever has played a worse half of basketball and emerged victorious. But that might actually say more about the performance of the team that lost. In the second half, Toronto shot 6-for-33 (18.2 percent), committed seven turnovers, totaled just 28 points -- including just five in a 1-for-15 fourth quarter -- and somehow managed to beat Indiana 74-72 Tuesday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Raptors (2-6) were coming off a 140-133 triple-overtime loss to Utah on Monday and were missing three injured players, while the Pacers had two days off. Yet it was Toronto that played with greater energy, fending off a late rally to snap losing streaks of four overall and seven in Indianapolis. For the Pacers (3-5), the loss was not only maddening, it was ironic -- they set a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a quarter and still could not find a way to win. DeMar DeRozan scored 15 for Toronto, while Jose Calderon had a triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. George Hill led the Pacers with 18 points.

QUOTABLE: "Tonight our guys willed their way through the fourth quarter. They had no legs to score. But our guys stuck together." -- Toronto Coach Dwane Casey

THE STAT: After Linas Kleiza scored inside with 9:26 remaining to put the Raptors up 71-59, they missed their final nine shots and scored just three points.

TURNING POINT: Hill tried to bring the Pacers back, scoring eight points in a 13-3 rally that cut the deficit to 74-72 with 1:02 remaining. After Amir Johnson missed a 3-pointer late in the shot clock with 40.8 seconds remaining, the Pacers had four shots to at least tie the game -- one by David West, two by Paul George and one from Hill -- but missed them all.

QUOTABLE II: "We were exhausted. But it's about gutting it out. We had to rely on something, and it wasn't our offense tonight."

-- DeRozan

HOT: Calderon made half of his 10 shots and hit both 3-point attempts.

NOT: Pretty much everybody else on both teams. George shot 3-for-14. West and Roy Hibbert combined to go 6-for-21, bringing their two-game total to 13-for-52. Indiana's bench was a combined 4-for-14. Toronto's reserves were 8-for-27. Andrea Bargnani was 3-for-13.

GOOD MOVE: The Pacers started according to script, jumping on the tired team, coming up with five steals and hitting five of their first six shots in bolting to a 13-4 lead in the first four minutes.

BAD MOVE: The Pacers promptly vanished and were outscored 40-17 over the next 18 minutes as the Raptors built a 14-point lead. Indiana shot 7-for-28 in that span to fall into a hole it could not climb from.

ROOKIE WATCH: Jonas Valanciunas had a solid game for the Raptors with nine points and eight rebounds, going 4-for-8 from the field. Terrence Ross also contributed nicely off the bench with seven points on 3-for-5 shooting in 13 minutes. None of Indiana's three rookies played.

NOTABLE: Against a defense ranked No. 29 in the NBA entering the game, Indiana shot 10-for-38 (26.3 percent) in the second half and 5-for-24 (20.8) in the fourth quarter and wound up at 32 percent for the game. ... Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (sprained right ankle) and small forward Landry Fields (right hand/wrist) traveled to New York to see a specialist to get second opinions. Lowry missed his fourth game in a row, Field his third. Alan Anderson (sprained left foot) saw a specialist in Indianapolis today and also did not play. ... DeRozan has averaged 23.8 points in his last four, including a career-high 37 Monday night. ... D.J. Augustin has struggled mightily as the backup point guard, for Indiana, shooting 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) overall and 6-for-24 (25 percent) from the 3-point line.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Wednesday @ Milwaukee, Friday vs. Dallas, Sunday @ New York. For the Raptors, Saturday @ Boston, Sunday vs. Orlando, Tuesday @ Philadelphia

• Raptors: Anderson, Fields, Lowry
• Pacers: Granger, Johnson

• Raptors: Kleiza
• Pacers: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #34 Kevin Cutler, #26 Pat Fraher
• Attendance: 11947
• Duration: 2:12