The Indiana Pacers continue to exceed expectations while the Toronto Raptors continue to fail to meet theirs. Indiana and Toronto are tied up at 2-2 with each team winning a game at home and on the road, effectively turning this series into a best-of-three.
Game 3 recap: Everything came together for the Raptors, while it was mostly just business as usual for the Pacers. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan finally sparked to life, both scoring 21 points. However, their combined shooting continues to be abysmal, after Game 4 they both rank among the worst playoff shooters in NBA history. In Game 3, they combined to shoot 15-40. The rough patch to start the playoffs still has yet to break.
For the Pacers, Paul George continued to be the fulcrum of this squad. He scored 25 points in 41 minutes. While not shooting particularly well, a theme for both teams in this series, he was 12-for-12 from the free throw line. His biggest help came in the form of Myles Turner who started on the bench, but played 31 minutes and scored 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Turner was doing a lot of little things well, again. He continues to be very aware and active, switching on defense and moving on offense.
The deciding factor in Game 3 was the role players of the Raptors being more valuable than the role players for the Pacers. Cory Joseph, the ex-Spur, played a big role off the bench, putting up 10 points and 4 assists in 24 minutes of action with only one turnover. DeMarre Carroll is probably supposed to be more than a role player, and he did start, but he is still working his way back to his best self after an extended layoff due to injury. His 17 points and defensive work in 35 minutes was very important.
Game 4 recap: The Raptors are one of those teams that has huge upside, but struggles to put away teams they should beat in the playoffs. Toronto has earned a reputation as a team that seems incapable of getting a big series win, particularly when they are supposed to win. In running with that theme, Indiana bounced back from a Game 3 loss in a big way. They got out to an early lead and quite simply never looked back.
As much as the Raptors turned on their head, getting a great output from Jonas Valanciunas early, the Pacers reciprocated in kind. Valanciunas was basically abandoned after a hot start and the Lowry-DeRozan duo was terrible again. This time, they shot a combined 8-for-27 and 20 points, 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Somehow, despite a 17-point loss, the diamond in the rough, #normcore, Norman Powell continued to play well. His on-off splits are particularly positive and despite playing 13 minutes in a big loss on Saturday, he was +6 in his time on the court.
Paul George had another big game, but Turner wasn’t as instrumental in this victory as he has been in games earlier this series. Instead, Ian Mahinmi decided he should have a breakout game and, along with George Hill, lead all scorers with 22 points. Somewhere, Valanciunas is shaking his head in that very animated way that only he can do so well.
The good: Paul George continues to be the one Pacer you can count on in every game. His defense is actually better than his offense most of the time against the Raptors. He and some combination of teammates on any given night are making life very difficult for Toronto and casting doubt on the ever-shaky Raptors.
The bad: The inside game for Indiana? I have to put a question mark there because Mahinmi absolutely had himself a game, but Valanciunas continues to be a huge problem for the Pacers. Everything else is mostly going as good as it can be for a team that barely made the playoffs and really should be looking to avoid elimination, not looking to see if they can steal one more game on the road and advance to the second round.
Look ahead: The Pacers have a real shot at winning this series. After splitting the first four games and proving that they can win on the road, everything is in play. George will need to keep being dominant and the level of output they get from Turner, Mahinmi and bench guys like Solomon Hill will be important. If the Pacers can take Game 5 in Toronto, the outlook will be bleak for the boys from The Six heading into Game 6.
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