Indiana Pacers led by balance and reserves in win over Toronto Raptors
The Indiana Pacers picked up their first win of the new year on Monday night as they took down the Toronto Raptors in front of an Indianapolis crowd.
For the Pacers, the name of the game was balance. For just the sixth time this season, Indiana's leading scorer finished with fewer than 22 points as rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin paced the squad with 21. It was just the Pacers second win in this campaign when no player scored at least 22 points.
Instead, everybody pitched in. Including Mathurin, seven Pacers players finished with double digit point totals, including a strong scoring night from T.J. McConnell, who dropped in the second-most points he has scored in a single game this season with 15.
Five other players reached 10+ points beyond McConnell and Mathruin as Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Aaron Nesmith, Jalen Smith, and Buddy Hield also reached double figures. Indiana's balanced attack got the job done.
The blue and gold had to survive two large Raptors runs in the victory. During the first quarter, Toronto went on a 16-2 run in under four minutes to establish an early 13-point lead. But the Pacers second unit checked in and closed the quarter strong, narrowing the Toronto lead to four at the end of the first frame.
In the third quarter, the Raptors went on a 20-2 run over a five-and-a-half minute span and found themselves up by eight with less than four minutes to go in the frame. Once again, it was the Pacers bench that responded, and they ended up recapturing the lead by the end of the quarter.
The early portions of the final quarter went back-and-forth, but once Haliburton hit a three to give Indiana a lead with 5:44 to go, the Pacers never looked back. They held on to win 122-114 and improved to 21-17.
Indiana's second unit had a huge impact. As detailed above, they survived two massive Raptors runs and got the Pacers back into the game both times. In total, the Pacers reserves finished with 54 points, which went a long way in helping the team win. For reference, Toronto's second unit scored seven points, albeit in far fewer minutes.
"The second unit was awesome tonight, so kudos to them," Tyrese Haliburton said after the game, per a video post by the Pacers.
The Pacers are now in sole possession of sixth place in the Eastern Conference and have the fourth-longest winning streak in the NBA. They will look to extend that streak on Wednesday when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers.
- Report: Myles Turner and Indiana Pacers open up contract extension talks. CLICK HERE.
- Aaron Nesmith is in a groove for the Indiana Pacers: 'Just playing free, playing to my strengths.' CLICK HERE.
- Pacers guard Trevelin Queen on Tyrese Haliburton: 'He's just a great leader.' CLICK HERE.
- Pacers center Isaiah Jackson focusing on the simple things to stay engaged and be effective. CLICK HERE.
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