Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers: game three preview and predicition

Apr 25, 2016, 06:13

Indiana Pacers starting center Ian Mahinmi will start Thursday night when the Pacers and Toronto Raptors resume their first-round playoff series.

Game two saw the Toronto Raptors bounced back from an-embarrassing-home loss to the Indiana Pacers in a dominant fashion.

Tonight's IN vs Toronto Game 3 is the second of three NBA Playoffs game on tonight's TV schedule and the only broadcast on NBA TV.

The Raptors, who have played well on the road all season and are the league-leaders for wins in IN going back to 2012, looked completely at ease against a backdrop of gold, courtesy of a T-shirt giveaway at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - DeMar DeRozan finally found his shooting touch Thursday night, and Kyle Lowry finally got Toronto's offense rolling.

The Raptors came out hot in Game 3, and never let the Pacers get back into it. Toronto now has a 2-1 lead as the series turns to Game 4.

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If they lose in Charlotte again, Miami will return home with a tied series and nearly must win game on their hands. The strategy worked, as the first year man notched nine points in an 18-0 Charlotte run during the third quarter.

If the Pacers are going to make this a series, they need more from just about every player. "But that's why we take it so serious when we are at practice, at shootaround and watching film".

Valanciunas helped make certain that wouldn't happen as Toronto snapped a seven-game postseason losing streak.

But leaving the Air Canada Centre apparently put the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed at ease, and the Raptors dynamic backcourt reverted to its more traditional form.

The All-Star point guard hit the 40-minute mark for the third time in the series' first three games, and increased his scoring total for the second straight contest.

Toronto has its fifth playoff series lead ever and needs two more victories to win a series for the second time in franchise history. Expect adjustments from Dwane Casey for Game 4.

Terrence Ross came in and hit a couple of shots, and Patrick Patterson played some terrific defence in the lanes to help the Raptors take a 53-36 lead at the break.

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"Hopefully, as a group, we respond pissed off", George said, according to CBS Sports' James Herbert.

With so many fingers pointing at DeRozan, we can't forget that he hasn't been alone in his post-season struggles. "I won't be happy until we (advance)".

Don't be deceived by George's stat line: 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists. "But at the same time, we're playing for something here". "There are so many things that we could do better - the fouling, they shoot 33 free throws to 16, there's something we're not doing right in getting that many free throws".

With the deficit cut, though, Cory Joseph continued to be huge off of the bench and Kyle Lowry started stepping up at the start of the fourth quarter, facilitating, knocking down shots, and creating timely turnovers to extend the lead once again in favor of the Raptors. They outrebounded IN 45-38 overall and 15-9 on the offensive glass. The other Pacers besides George and Ellis combined to shoot 34.9 percent in Game 2, including 1 for 15 from 3-point range. He spent part of the game chirping at the officials over not getting foul calls. There were flashes this season - a half here, a game or two there - where the Rockets would play close to all the talent on their roster.

Casey, who was born in Indy, had his own cheering section in town.

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He had not played well in the first two games and the plan was to do something about it, because stars respond in the playoffs. Chris Paul air-balled a 3 and had a quick 2 attempt blocked on a play that wasn't that quick of a 2 to begin with.