As the first round nears completion, Tuesday night provided another blowout but also supplied a close game with a waved-off buzzer beater. Baby steps!
TORONTO RAPTORS 102, INDIANA PACERS 99 (RAPTORS LEAD SERIES 3-2)
The good news for each team in this series: Per NBA rules, it is impossible for both of them to lose this series. One of them is assured of advancing to the next round, and as of now, Toronto has to have the slight edge after storming back in the fourth quarter to deny the Pacers a chance at closing the series on their home floor.
The Raptors looked like the same old Playoff Raptors for much of the game, trailing by much as 17. Indiana’s horrendous bench unit (that sees all of their major playmakers take a rest at the same time) coughed up just about all of it though, and by the time Paul George and Co. returned, the tide had turned. Still, because these are the Raptors, they nearly undid all of their hard work.
After Toronto allowed a mere six points in the first 11+ minutes of the fourth, a three pointer-intentional foul-three pointer sequence for the Pacers was a nanosecond away from sending the game to overtime, but Solomon Hill took too long and hadn’t quite released the game-tying triple:
Paul George was again fantastic (tied his playoff career-high with 39 points, along with eight rebounds and eight assists), but again did not get enough help. Though George Hill (15 on 5-9 FG) and Myles Turner (14 on 7-10 FG) chipped in, Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey were a combined 6-28 for 15 points.
Though he wasn’t perfect, Toronto finally got a big game from DeMar DeRozan, who went off for 34 points on 10-22 from the floor. The Raptors will get a chance to close out the series in six on Friday night.
For more, check Adam Lukach’s look at how the Pacers gave this one away.
ATLANTA HAWKS 110, BOSTON CELTICS 83 (HAWKS LEAD SERIES 3-2)
This one…was not so close. Boston held an early double digit lead when Atlanta couldn’t hit the side of a barn, but once the Hawks got going, they never looked back.
Kent Bazemore was a big catalyst during the swing, impacting the game with his energy and hitting back-to-back threes that got the building rocking. He hit 4-9 from downtown en route to 16 points and five rebounds. No Hawk had a particularly big night due to the early blowout, with Mike Scott’s 17 leading the way.
The big story over the next couple days will the ankle injury suffered by Isaiah Thomas in the fourth quarter, just as he was about to exit the blowout.
He says he’ll be alright for Game 6, and for Boston’s sake, he better be. Thomas finished with just seven points, far below what the Celts need if they’re to have any chance of meeting the Cavs in Round 2.
Read Charley Rosen for more on this game and some adjustments the Celtics can make.
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