Quick Reaction: Pacers 119, Raptors 130

Barrett started off 2/2 beyond the arc. RJ’s been flashing quite a few behind-the-back passes recently, and brought it out again tonight early in the second quarter. Barrett started the second half just like the first, with a corner three. A negative tonight was he had a few poor passes that led to turnovers. The best part of RJ’s game tonight was the fact that he made most of his free throws, possibly the only side of his game that has tanked since joining Toronto. Fewer turnovers would have earned him an A+.

Pretty quiet first half, but that’s not a bad thing when it comes to a defensive-minded player. It usually means he’s playing his role and taking shots when they’re there which is what was happening tonight for Ochai. Agbaji was the momentum killer for the Pacers tonight in the fourth quarter as he made a timely three at the beginning of the fourth quarter when the Pacers were starting to build some momentum and he made a beautiful reverse layup off the dribble late in the fourth to get the lead back into double digits for Toronto. He saved his best quarter for last as almost all his points came in the final twelve minutes and he had some great shot contests at the rim too. This was truly an A+ performance for the role that Ochai is in.

Jakob started immediately with a free slam dunk at the rim and a rebound on the defensive end. Poeltl was hungry tonight as he won a couple of 50/50 balls for Toronto. A couple of bad pass attempts that led to completely unforced turnovers. We saw not one but two Poeltl dunks, which is a very rare sight these days. He was able to secure his eighth double-double of the season, which leads the team. He’s been playing the best basketball of his career over the last three games. Benefited heavily from Myles Turner’s absence as he’s a great rim protector but that’s how life goes in the NBA sometimes. Poeltl has been a weak free-throw shooter during his career, but he had a good night in that category and continues to enjoy his best season behind the line. Like RJ, he misses out on the A+ due to some bad turnovers.

Gradey had a great first quarter as he’s been struggling to make shots in the last two games but he was determined to snap the cold streak. Tonight the shot selection looked much better than the last few games as almost all of his shots came off of wide-open looks. He should’ve had a couple more free throws on top of what he shot tonight, as he got hacked quite a lot in this game but the refs let almost all of them go.

Mitchell started the game with an aggressive first quarter. He only took two shots in the quarter but that’s considered aggressive for Davion. Mitchell took another charge tonight which has been a signature move for him this season. Just like RJ, Mitchell had a deja vu third quarter as he started the second half aggressively just like the first half. Great shot selection like always and a solid night at the office.

Shead had some poor free throws in the first quarter that had no chance. He threw a couple of bad turnovers off of pass attempts but showed great defence like always, most notably flashing his on-ball pressure. He got off to a nice start in the second half but his shift was unfortunately cut short after a hard landing while contesting a T.J. McConnell shot at the rim. He was able to get back into the game at the start of the fourth quarter which was a relieving moment.

Boucher’s typical energy was there tonight, most specifically on the defensive end. The first half was decent, and the second half was even better as he was crashing the glass for Toronto.

Mogbo had a beautiful putback dunk right at the start of the second quarter, which was his biggest highlight of the night. Outside of that, he was pretty quiet.

Instant three off the bench during his first shift. Battle also had a beautiful pump fake side step three at the end of the first quarter to beat the buzzer. His pump fake has to be one of the best in the league as it seems he’s making somebody jump every game. The rookie is a top-three shooter on the team already.

Surprising second-quarter minutes as we’ve seen some Garrett Temple minutes lately. This time he was able to make an impact as he rattled in a corner three, had a great steal and was able to dish to a trailing Poeltl on the fast break right after his three-ball. Showed great hustle as he won the Raptors a 50/50 ball when he hit the deck late in the second quarter. His stellar first half earned him more minutes in the second half which was unfortunately not remotely close to his first half but the impact at the beginning was great.

Great rotations again and it seems his next man up is Garrett Temple. We saw him play a few minutes against the Pistons on Friday night but tonight he was able to make an impact so we’ll see if he’s won a spot in the rotation. Timeout calls were great too to kill off any Pacer momentum and comeback attempt.