Quick Reaction: Pacers 111, Raptors 122
| Pacers | 111 | Final Box Score |
122 | Raptors |
A | R. Barrett37 MIN, 29 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 9-16 FG, 2-6 3FG, 9-12 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, 6 +/- Started the game off with a corner three. Barrett had a great night finishing at the rim. He also had a great night at the free throw line, an area in which he has struggled since joining the Raptors from New York. RJ’s highlight of the game has to be his putback layup on a missed Poeltl layup attempt. Too many turnovers from Barrett but that was the only concerning area tonight. | |
A | O. Agbaji36 MIN, 13 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 5-7 FG, 3-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/- Good start to the game with two finishes at the rim. Ochai’s three ball came alive in the second quarter with back-to-back threes in consecutive possessions. Ochai made a great block on Jerace Walker early in the third quarter that was spectacular. Agbaji was clutch midway through the fourth quarter as the lead was down to two but he was able to get it back to five with a huge relief three. A very efficient showing and great defensive work tonight. | |
A+ | J. Poeltl36 MIN, 17 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 7-10 FG, 0-0 3FG, 3-3 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, 18 +/- Solid first shift from Yak. A very quiet second quarter but he did his job of guarding Toronto’s rim and hitting the glass. His best quarter came in the fourth when the Raptors needed him the most. Poeltl made two huge free throws late in the clutch, which was a welcomed sight as that’s one of his weaknesses, although he has been much better behind the line this year. A quiet double-double but a great performance nonetheless. | |
D- | J. Walter17 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 15 +/- A cold 0/3 start, and Walter was tasked with guarding Haliburton and Siakam early on, but it was a very lacklustre first shift. There were two bogus calls on Walter while guarding Haliburton, where he did nothing wrong but that’s the life of a rookie in the NBA. Ja’Kobe was able to finally get on the board with his first two points early in the third quarter. The only starter who struggled tonight, but he’s still a rookie and will take this game as a learning experience. | |
A | S. Barnes36 MIN, 35 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST, 1 STL, 13-20 FG, 3-7 3FG, 6-8 FT, 1 BLK, 7 TO, 18 +/- The Florida State product started tonight with a pull-up three 3 minutes into the game and a tough contested mid-range jumper. Great playmaking per usual. He made some tough shots in the post tonight that were heavily contested. The Pacers were so poor defensively tonight that they let Barnes take the ball all the way down the court off an inbound and make a layup with almost no resistance. Sloppy at times with a bad travel turnover as well as some bad passes. He came out reenergized in the second half as he started the third quarter with five quick points. It wasn’t just a hot start too, as he continued to make two more threes later in the quarter. Scottie made a huge and one late in the third quarter when the Pacers were making a big run and flexed on former teammate Siakam too after the play. Congratulations to Scottie B on surpassing his career-high for points tonight. An easy A+ performance if not for his unforced turnovers. | |
B | D. Mitchell26 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 3-9 FG, 1-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -4 +/- Mitchell’s on-ball pressure has to be up there with Shead’s as the two backup point guards give the opposition zero breathing room. Mitchell came alive in the second quarter with the pesty defence, a rare offensive rebound and a three-ball that came late in the shot clock. Davion was robbed of a beautiful and one late in the game that could have given the Raptors two more points but he was able to get it back with just under two minutes and then drew a foul on the defensive end in the following possession. Clutch plays from off night. | |
B | J. Mogbo15 MIN, 3 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- Great defensive work tonight. He seems passive on the offensive end, but Mogbo is playing his role out there so you can’t really get mad at him for that. Mogbo, like Poeltl, was his best when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, as his energy shot up by a noticeable amount. | |
D- | C. Boucher14 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 1-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/- Decent first half for Boucher. Chris made a great layup late in the third quarter off of a drawn-up inbound play, where his pump fake sent the defender flying leading to a beautiful finish. Outside of that, his poor shooting beyond the arc continued and we’ve seen much better games from the Oregon product. | |
D- | J. Battle14 MIN, 3 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Instant three-ball off the bench for Battle but that was it for tonight. One of the top three shooters on the team, Jamison was unable to find any open threes after his first shot and his second miss came off a tightly contested shot. | |
C+ | J. Shead09 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-2 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 8 +/- His on-ball pressure has to be one of the best in the NBA. Great defensive work like always. Shead also showed a nice step back three tonight which is the first time I’ve seen him try one. The circus 3-pointer that came at the end of the shot-clock midway through the second quarter was remarkable and he followed it up with a Shaqtin’ a fool-worthy play where he jumped on his pump fake and was called for an up and down. | |
A | Darko Rajakovic A bad challenge call in the second quarter which he lost but an amazing timeout late in the first quarter when the Pacers were getting dangerously close. After the break, Toronto came out with the same energy that they showed at the start of the game. Darko drew up some good plays that led to buckets for RJ and Boucher so props to him for that. | |
Things We Saw
- The biggest lead at half for Toronto (17) this season as the previous record of 12 also came against the Pacers earlier this year.
- Great defensive effort from the Raptors, mostly in the first half. How often do you see an NBA team fail to reach the 50-point mark at halftime these days. They forced 21 turnovers that led to 23 fast break points, mostly in the first half. The defensive effort went away mid-way through the third quarter and the Pacers made a late 22-7 run to cut 20+ point lead down to 9. A 9/10 start from the field from the Raptors in the third quarter, but they finished 2/12 after that.
- Toronto wins their second consecutive game and makes it two wins out of two against Indiana this season. Both wins were at home and by the same margin of 11 points.
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