Indiana Pacers overcome slow start to take down Toronto Raptors on the road

The Pacers were in Toronto on Tuesday

The Indiana Pacers kicked off the final week of their 2023-24 season on Tuesday night with a game in Toronto. The Pacers have struggled with the Raptors this season and were hoping to even up the season series.

Toronto entered the night banged up, but they had won their last two games. Their form had been improving recently, so this game would not be easy for Indiana despite the large difference in winning percentage between the two teams.

Early, that proved to be true. Javon Freeman-Liberty scored early and often — he had seven points across the first few possessions, and it forced a Pacers timeout. It was 9-2 Raptors at the time. Indiana looked unfocused.

That continued out of the stoppage. The Raptors took a 13-2 lead in the first few minutes of the game as the Pacers were 1/5 from the field with four turnovers. It was a dismal start for the blue and gold, who had playoff positioning at stake.

It took a while for the Pacers to get rolling, but they found some success in the middle of the first quarter. A short burst helped trim the Raptors lead down to 17-9, and the blue and gold made substitutions around that time. Their bench has been great this season and had a chance to get the Pacers back into the game.

That second unit continued to cut into the Raptors advantage thanks to consecutive corner threes from T.J. McConnell and Doug McDermott. At that time, the score was 20-15 in favor of the hosts, but Indiana was on a 10-3 run. They needed to keep it up.

For a while, the Pacers kept the score close. But the Raptors surged late in the first quarter and were up by nine at 32-23 with 1:37 to go in the period. Toronto's effort on the glass was smothering.

Freeman-Liberty kept rolling and reached 14 points near the end of the frame. The Raptors closed the period on an 11-4 run and were ahead 35-25 after 12 minutes. The Pacers kept beating themselves — they had six turnovers and were getting crushed on the glass.

The second quarter opened with back and forth play. The two teams were trading buckets, with the Pacers doing slightly better thanks to their outside shooting. They had cut the lead to seven after a few possessions in the period.

Indiana's defense wasn't good enough to keep them in the game. Even as the Pacers reserves played well offensively, they could barely put a dent in the lead. The Pacers kept having lapses on the less glamorous end of the floor, which prevented them from making a comeback.

Near the middle of the frame, the Pacers trimmed the Raptors lead to five after a difficult and-one layup from Aaron Nesmith. Indiana's starters were back in the game and were hoping to ignite a run after their sluggish start.

That opening five finally figured out what they needed to do to succeed. They were scoring with ease and getting enough stops, and Andrew Nembhad hit a three-point shot with about two minutes to go in the second period that cut the Toronto lead to one. The Pacers were fighting hard and finally had the necessary effort level on both ends.

Indiana captured the lead for the first time of the game late in the second quarter, and they held it into halftime. After being down by a dozen points in the first quarter, the Pacers were ahead 65-64 at the time. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points.

The second half started off with the Pacers keeping their lead for the first few minutes, but they committed multiple fouls in that stretch. They needed to be solid defensively, otherwise Toronto was going to live at the foul line in the third period.

Indiana was scoring well early in the half, though, and they were ahead 71-65 after a few minutes of play. That led to a Raptors timeout — they were struggling to get stops against the blue and gold's starting five.

The Pacers continued to be the better group for the next few minutes. Their defense finally looked effective outside of some lapses against Kelly Olynyk, and their offense was humming. A dunk from Haliburton with 7:48 to go in the third frame put the blue and gold up by 10.

Their lead reached 13 a few minutes later. Finally, the Pacers looked like the Pacers and had their awful start in the rearview mirror. They needed to keep it up, though — their margin for error is nonexistent the rest of this season.

They did well to keep pushing late into the period. Their lead reached 14, then 15, and then back to 14 again across the next few minutes. Toronto's defense was falling apart thanks to Indiana's paint pressure.

When the third quarter came to an end, the Pacers were ahead 106-91. Their offense had been clicking for the last 25 or so minutes — they reached 40 points in both the second and third frames. Tyrese Haliburton was up to 20 points.

The final period started with the Pacers ballooning their lead to 17, but the Raptors answered and cut it to 12 just a few plays later. Indiana took a timeout at the time. They looked a little sloppy to start the final quarter.

That stoppage was great for Indiana, who scored the next six points after the break. Their offense was far better than it was at any point in the first quarter, and the Raptors had no answers. Indiana's bench was getting it done at the time.

The Raptors defense continued to struggle. Haliburton checked in for the visitors and immediately buried a three, and then Obi Toppin threw down two impressive dunks in a row. The Pacers were having fun, and they led by 18 with 6:37 to go.

With three minutes to go, that advantage was still at 15. Indiana was very close to putting the game away and just needed a few more successful possessions. And they got them, going up by 17 with 1:55 remaining.

Indiana cleared their bench, bringing in some deep reserves for the final minutes. They rolled to the buzzer. The Pacers beat the Raptors 140-123 to improve to 46-34. It was an important win.

Haliburton finished with 30 points and five assists. Toppin added 23 points, and T.J. McConnell had 17. It was a balanced attack from the blue and gold.

They next play on Friday when they take on the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

• Tyrese Haliburton sets Indiana Pacers single-season franchise assist record on a night the Pacers needed him. CLICK HERE.
• The Pacers needed to be clutch and to win vs Miami Heat to keep playoff hopes alive. They got it done. CLICK HERE.
• Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle passes Red Auerbach, moves to 12th in NBA All-Time coaching wins. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers survive a close game to beat Miami Heat in a vital seeding battle. CLICK HERE.
• Follow AllPacers on Facebook: All Pacers SI
• Follow AllPacers on Twitter: @SIPacers