Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield have been nice too, however got here up simply brief
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It was a barnburner in basketball nation on Wednesday evening and the Raptors pulled one out over Indiana … barely.
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Buddy Hield fired an extended three-pointer off the backboard, the rim and out on the buzzer after Gary Trent missed a pair of free throws, and the Raptors escaped with a 132-131 victory.
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Hield had hit seven three-pointers earlier and celebrity guard Tyrese Haliburton was on the lookout for his seventeenth help on the play (together with 33 factors), however Hield simply missed.
Pascal Siakam was spectacular for the Raptors, scoring 36 factors, together with 13 within the third quarter, Dennis Schroder added 26, Scottie Barnes 20 and each groups shot over 53% from the sector within the old school shootout.
Aside from within the first couple of minutes of the sport, the Raptors seemed unrecognizable from the group that had performed one in all its worst video games of the season an evening earlier, a 126-107 loss in Orlando.
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This Toronto group didn’t look misplaced offensively and didn’t look half asleep or nonchalant. And this Toronto group went blow for blow with the most effective offensive group within the NBA and got here out on high.
Indiana was coming off a completely bananas 157-152 regulation win over Atlanta. Haliburton had scored 37 in that one and added 16 assists. Haliburton got here into the sport main the league in assists, assists per sport and quite a lot of superior offensive stats. As a group, Indiana had averaged a whopping 122.6 factors per 100 possessions, which might be an all-time NBA finest for a full season, however was giving again 120.2, second-worst behind solely Charlotte.
Indiana was lacking reserve guard Andrew Nembhard, of Aurora, Ont., who lit up the Raptors in his return house final season in a win.
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Hield returned to Indiana’s beginning lineup in opposition to the Hawks and hit all six of his three-point makes an attempt and began Wednesday’s sport by connecting on 5-of-6 and stayed scorching from there. A sport after hitting 22 three-pointers on scorching 49% taking pictures, the Pacers hit 5 within the first quarter and 18 in all.
Toronto, one of many slowest-starting groups within the NBA, as soon as once more obtained off to a foul starting, falling behind 10-2 after which by 13 halfway via the primary quarter. The Raptors gave up 35 factors and trailed by eight after 1 / 4, however seemed a lot better within the second, outscoring the Pacers 41-30 to guide by three on the half. It may have been extra, however Myles Turner nailed a three-pointer on the buzzer.
Siakam had 19 on the half, Dennis Schroder 14, however 4 Pacers cracked double figures within the first 24 minutes and the group hit 11 three-pointers.
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If Tuesday’s sport in Orlando and Sunday’s in opposition to Detroit have been one-sided, no-contest affairs that have been in the end cut up by the Raptors, this one was something however boring or a blowout.
Neither group may create separation. Indiana went up by seven with 4 minutes to go, however Toronto saved creeping again inside a basket.
There was an Anunoby three-pointer to provide the Raptors a late lead, however the sport wasn’t near over with plenty of motion ensuing, highlighted by a surprising extensive open Barnes as he rolled to the basket for a slam dunk whereas being fouled by Turner, one of many NBA’s finest rim protectors. It was the twenty sixth lead change of the sport and Barnes hit the free throw too.
It ended with Trent bricking the 2 free throws and Hield coming near pulling out a wild win.
It wasn’t fairly, nevertheless it obtained the Raptors again inside a sport of .500.
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