Raptors fall to Pacers 107-104
INDIANAPOLIS — Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, Bojan Bogdonavic added 19 and the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 107-104 on Friday night.
Lance Stephenson had 13 of his 18 points in the final five minutes and shot 7 for 9 from the field, including 4 for 4 from 3-point range. Stephenson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Indiana a 103-92 lead with 4:06 remaining.
Indiana won its fifth straight after a four-game losing streak early in the season.
Indiana outscored the Raptors 31-20 in the third quarter to take a one-point lead, and Stephenson took over from there.
Kyle Lowry scored 12 of his 24 points in the second quarter as Toronto outscored Indiana 35-21, giving the Raptors a 60-50 halftime lead.
Toronto had a chance to tie after Myles Turner missed the second of two free throw attempts with six seconds remaining, but Fred VanVleet’s 3-pointer at the buzzer clanked off the backboard.
Turner finished seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds, and VanVleet had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes off the bench.
Toronto outrebounded Indiana 42-41 and shot nearly 50 per cent from the field, but struggled from 3-point range, making just 9 of 30 attempts.
The Raptors close out a three-game road trip today at Atlanta, while the Pacers are home to Boston.
CANADA 93, BAHAMAS 69
HALIFAX — Canada’s men’s national team opened their bid to get back to the World Cup with a 93-69 win over the Bahamas on Friday in the opening game of the FIBA Americas qualifier.
Brady Heslip of Oakville, Ont., led Canada with 22 points, including six 3-pointers.
The Bahamas kept it close early before Heslip caught fire and helped Canada build a 21-11 lead by the end of the first quarter. The former Baylor University guard scored five of his 3-pointers in the first half.
Canada played suffocating defence in the second quarter as the Canadians limited the Bahamas to just six points. Canada went to the dressing room leading 45-17 at the half.
Former Carleton Ravens standout Philip Scrubb added 17 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for Canada.
The Bahamas came alive in the third quarter and matched Canada’s output of 21 points, but never got closer than 22 points the rest of the game.