Indiana Pacers Have Home court Advantage With Win Over Toronto Raptors
The Indiana Pacers defeated the Toronto Raptors 100-90 in game one Saturday evening. The Pacers now have home court advantage with the lead going into game two.
The Indiana Pacers weren’t favorites going into game one prior to Saturday, but they made sure to let everyone watching know that they came to play.
The game was close between the two, with the Pacers running away with the lead in the fourth quarter behind Paul George‘s 33 points and Monta Ellis‘s 15.
The Raptor’s two best players, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, shot a combined 8-32 from the field as the Raptors shot 30-79 throughout the game, including 21% from the three-point line. The Pacers shot 43% from the field and made 52.4% of their three-point attempts.
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Holding a 1-0 series lead and getting the victory in Toronto is huge for the Pacers. While history has shown us that nothing is won after the first game however, the win yesterday is a shot of confidence for a Pacers team that has been mashing well together since the start of April.
Let it be known though, the Pacers won’t get too ahead of themselves with yesterday’s win.
“We’re happy to get the win but we’re not satisfied,” George said.
Rightfully so. After all, the Raptors were the second-best team in the Eastern Conference and have a roster that is very rich in terms of depth. It would be foolish to jump the gun on a first-round upset this early into the series.
DeRozan guarded George for most of the game, leading to George’s scoring output. It goes without saying that Raptors head coach Dwane Casey may experiment and have DeMarre Carroll guard George in an attempt to prevent George from having himself another night.
Luckily for the Pacers, George has enjoyed a great deal of success come playoff time throughout his career. George has shot 42.6% from the field, averaged 17.5 points and has shot over 76% from the free throw line in 55 career playoff games.
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If the Pacers will want to continue their success and build off of yesterday’s win, they will need to continue to play well together and have their best players play to the highest of their abilities. Another focal point for the team will be to try to continue to limit Lowry and DeRozan’s scoring as they did in game one.
Continue to follow Ink On Indy as we cover the remainder of the series for the Pacers.