The Sports Xchange
Nov 24, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS -- Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 and Lance Stephenson had 18 as the Indiana Pacers held off a late Toronto rally and won their fifth consecutive game 107-104 on Friday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Pacers (11-8) outscored the Raptors (11-7) 57-44 during the final two quarters.
Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 24 points, and Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet each scored 16 as the Raptors lost their second in a row after a four-game winning streak.
Darren Collison added 17 points and eight assists for Indiana, which was 20 of 27 from the line while Toronto was 15 of 20.
Two Myles Turner free throws with 5:13 remaining expanded the Indiana lead to 97-92. The Pacers' lead swelled to 103-92 with 4:06 to go after a clutch shot from Stephenson, his second 3-pointer in an 11-0 run.
The Raptors refused to go away, taking advantage of four late Indiana turnovers. A Powell dunk cut the Indiana lead to 106-105 with 31.8 seconds to play.
Indiana outscored Toronto 31-20 in the third quarter to retake the lead, 81-80. Oladipo had 11 in the quarter and Bogdanovic had eight. Through three quarters, Toronto's Lowry had 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The Raptors trailed despite shooting 50 percent from the field through 36 minutes (30 of 60) while Indiana was at 41.4 percent (29 of 70).
Lowry (17) and DeMar DeRozan (7) combined for 24 first-half points on 8 of 11 shooting, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Toronto erased a 13-point, first-quarter deficit to lead 60-50 through 24 minutes, outscoring Indiana 35-21 during the second quarter.
Indiana got 14 first-half points from Collison, who was 6 of 8 from the field, but the rest of the Pacers were 14 of 41 (34.1 percent). The Raptors shot 59.5 percent during the first half (22 of 37). Toronto outrebounded Indiana 24-18 during the first two quarters.
The Pacers built a 13-point, first-quarter lead before the Raptors battled back to within 29-25 through 12 minutes. Indiana got 12 first-period points from Collison, who was 5 of 5 from the field, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range. The rest of the Pacers were a collective 6 of 21.
Toronto was guilty of six turnovers in the opening 12 minutes, leading to nine Indiana points.
NOTES: Toronto was without G/F C.J. Miles, the former Pacer whose wife gave birth on Thursday night ... The Raptors also were without G Delon Wright, who is battling a right shoulder injury. Wright is averaging 7.6 points and 2.4 rebounds. ... Indiana played without rookie C Ike Anigbogu, who has a sore throat. ... Indiana came in with a four-game winning streak ... Among those with more than 20 attempts, Indiana F Bogan Bogdanovic entered this game ranked fourth in NBA 3-point shooting percentage at 48.4 (44 of 91) ... Bogdanovic had 26 points and seven rebounds in Monday night's 105-97 victory at Orlando during which he reached double figures for the 14th time in 18 games, all of which he has started. ... Beginning with Friday's game against the Raptors, nine of Indiana's next 11 games are in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.