HOT DOWN THE STRETCH
Raptors outmuscle Pacers 106-99 for eighth straight road win
The long arm of Raptor Jonas Valanciunas denies Bojan Bogdanovic of the Pacers in Thursday night’s game in Indianapolis. The East leaders have won 10 in a row and a record eight away from home. Fun times.
Dwane Casey knew it would be a tough game against a hot, physical opponent in a difficult environment that would be very much like a playoff game and a very good test for his Toronto Raptors.
They passed, turning up the intensity at both ends of the court in the second half for an impressive 106-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
In a game that lived up to its billing — tough, relentless, the kind of grind-it-out game they’ll get in a month when the playoff start — the Raptors won their 10th straight game, a franchise-record eighth straight road win, and played as tough a game as they have all year.
“It’ll be a good night for us. It’ll be a good test for us on the road in a hot gym,” Casey had told reporters Thursday morning. “These are the kinds of games we need to get ready for what’s coming up in the future.”
DeMar DeRozan sealed the game by hitting two free throws with 14.3 seconds left to give Toronto a five-point lead, and he punctuated the win with a steal and a dunk that capped a 24-point night. Jonas Valanciunas had another big game, pouring in 16 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. The Raptors overcame 20 turnovers against the hyperphysical Pacers by dominating the glass and dishing out 20 assists on 35 made field goals.
The Pacers have moved up to third place in the Eastern Conference on the strength of a solid month and had won seven of 10 heading into the game.
There were few expectations for Indiana after they traded Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in the off-season, a move for which the front office was pilloried. But Oladipo has emerged as a backcourt force in the East and Sabonis, who missed Thursday’s game with an ankle injury, is an emerging young frontcourt player.
“I don’t know if I thought third, but I thought they’d be in the playoffs,” Toronto’s C.J. Miles, who spend three seasons with the Pacers, said before the game. “I thought there was a lot of talent and I thought Victor was good coming in here. I thought Sabonis was good coming in here.”
But it wasn’t one of the new Pacers who dominated. It was 33-year-old Al Jefferson, who was only forced into a significant role because Sabonis was out and Myles Turner injured an ankle just before halftime.
Jefferson, who hadn’t played a minute in nine games before seeing 25 minutes on Thursday, had 20 points and dominated inside against Raptors backup Jakob Poeltl.
Oladipo had 20 for Indiana.