Raptors soar into 2nd round
Toronto advances with 102-92 win at Washington; awaits Cleveland or Indiana
WASHINGTON — Dwane Casey had been asked the question so many times since the post-season began: Sure the Raptors’ second unit was excellent in the regular season, but could they carry that over to the playoffs, when the arena lights are the brightest and the stars step up their games?
Friday, in the Raptors’ biggest game so far this season — and on the road — the Toronto Raptors coach and his “bench mob” answered with an emphatic yes.
Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, but it was the bench, finally complete with the return of Fred VanVleet, that came up big in a 102-92 victory over Washington. The Raptors clinched the series four games to two, and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight season.
“I’m still looking for that manual that says you can’t play your second unit. They’re too young, they’re too this, they’re too that. As long as they’re productive, they’re going to play,” said Casey. “They’ve been good to us all year, and they closed it out for us tonight.”
DeMar DeRozan added 16 points for Toronto, while Jonas Valanciunas finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam scored 11 in an energetic effort.
The home team had won each of the first five games of the series, the Raptors taking a 3-2 lead with Wednesday’s 108-98 victory at the Air Canada Centre. But Toronto was intent on preventing a Game 7.
The Raptors trailed by 12 points early, but kept their composure.
Behind 78-73 to start the fourth quarter, the Raptors’ second unit galloped out to a 15-5 run, steered by VanVleet, who’d played less than three minutes in the previous five games due to a shoulder injury.
A Siakam dunk punctuated the run and put Toronto up by five points with 6:51 to play. Siakam took flight for another dunk that stretched the Raptors’ lead to 96-88, then four consecutive points by Lowry made it a 10-point game with 1:55 remaining, sending heartbroken Washington fans pouring toward the exits.
VanVleet had five points, four rebounds, and four assists, but the backup guard’s toughness and infectious confidence changed the game’s momentum, according to Casey.
“We tried not to make a big deal out of it while he was out, keep the other guys motivated, but he was the difference,” Casey said. “That little group has a playing personality that he does make a difference with that group.
“He is the engine, the toughness. It is that little birdie on the shoulder, and I thought it really propelled Pascal and those other guys to give them a sense of confidence.”
That little group outscored Washington’s bench 17-2, which came as no surprise to DeRozan.
“It’s nothing new to us,” DeRozan said. “Like I said, them guys been doing it all year, been countless games where our starters didn’t even see the fourth quarter because of our bench. They’re capable of going out there and playing against starters on the other team and competing at a high level.”
In previous post-seasons, the lion’s share of Toronto’s offence went through DeRozan and Lowry. Casey spent a good chunk of his off-season developing his bench to help alleviate that, and the second unit’s play is a big reason the Raptors won a franchise-high 59 games in the regular season, and has Casey the favourite to win coach of the year.
“I think the overall confidence that we have in our group, coach has kind of just instilled that into all of us,” Lowry said. “This is a team. It’s not about individual success, it’s about team success.”
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said Casey would have his vote for coach of the year.
“They played hard, their bench is really good,” Brooks said.
Pacers force Game 7 by blowing out Cavs 121-87
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers will force LeBron James to go the distance to remain unbeaten in first-round series.
Behind Victor Oladipo’s 28 points and first career post-season triple-double, the Pacers sent the series back to Cleveland and pushed the defending Eastern Conference champions to the brink of an early exit and a possible summer of unrest with a 121-87 rout on Friday night.
“I just went out there and played. I did everything with confidence,” Oladipo said. “This game is over. It means absolutely nothing right now.”
If he can play that way one more time, the Pacers could reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.
History does not bode well for the Pacers. James is 12-0 all-time in first-round series and home teams have a major advantage in Game 7.
But the Pacers have defied the odds all season and this series has been no exception.
Their Game 1 victory, in Cleveland, ended James’ record-setting, 21-game winning streak in the first round.
In Game 6, Indiana handed the Cavs their first loss in a closeout game in 14 tries dating to 2009 and ended James’ 11-game winning streak in closeout games. It wasn’t even close. While James finished with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds, coach Tyronn Lue opted to keep four of his five starters including James on the bench for the entire fourth quarter because Cleveland trailed by 25.
“They just took it to us (in the third),” James said. “They made shots. We missed shots. We didn’t counter what they were doing defensively or offensively and it just turned the game wide open.”
Indiana did it by playing old-school postseason basketball — hard, aggressive and relentless.
The Cavs never led after the Pacers used a 12-2 run to erase a 22-17 first-quarter deficit.
They led 57-47 at halftime, extended the margin to 92-67 after three and led by as much as 36 before closing it out.