Toronto Raptors vs Indiana Pacers Score: 130 – 122 Raptors finally achieve Pizza Party

Scottie makes history as the first Raptor with four triple-doubles in a single season along with securing the win

The Toronto Raptors finished their quick road trip with a stop in Indianapolis to face the Indiana Pacers. After a season-long struggle to win several consecutive games, they finally broke that streak. Despite coach Darko offering pizza much earlier in the season, it is yet to be seen whether he will make good on that promise tonight, now that they have secured their third straight win.

Pace, passing, and effort were on full display throughout the game, the keys to their success. The bench was productive, with notable performances from Gradey Dick, finishing with 18-5-2 and Ochai Agbaji contributing 13-2-2.

Scottie Barnes completed his fourth triple double of the season, with 21-12-12, setting the record for the most by any Raptor in a season. RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley also held their own, helping control the pace of the game and chipping in 24-2-5 and 19-5-2 respectively.

After all the dust has settled and we have our roster for the remainder of the season, we knew it would take a bit of time for them to find their identity, but the recent stretch of games have demonstrated what the new direction will be, and so far it has been pretty exciting to watch.

Right from the start of this matchup, the pace the game was going to be played at became pretty evident. The Pacers are known to play extremely quickly, avoiding late shot clock situations whenever possible. Toronto matched this energy early, utilizing transition play and quick setups to prevent Indiana from getting back on defence. An early 3 from Tent Jr. opened up scoring for the Raps, in a nice side-step 3-pointer.

Scottie had his fingerprints on the game early as well, with an impressive block, and emphatic dunk, and a perfectly placed lob pass to Jakob on the inside for the jam.

After a timeout, both defences tightened up, but the Raptors dug in and strung together a number of highlight plays to go on a 7-0 run: A Quickley pull-up 3-pointer in transition, a picked pocket setting up a perfect dime to a diving Bruce Brown, and a shifty step-back mid-range jumper from Gary Trent Jr. who completely lost his defender.

One of the more intriguing takeaways from the quarter was the smoothness in the Raptors’ offense. Their screening, cutting, driving, and passing were all clean. They seemed to like the pace of the matchup, and a wide-open 3-pointer from Kelly Olynyk to end the quarter gave the Raps a 30-28 advantage.

To start the second, Scottie had a strong move against ample contact but still managed to finish, despite a lack of calls. Scottie tried the same play again, but was hammered again, without a call, prompting a timeout. Siakam started to heat up for the Pacers, but RJ and IQ kept the offence running for the Raps, keeping them consistently within a possession.

Gradey had an excellent quarter, with an excellent baseline cut for a dunk and a corner 3-pointer that hit only the laces to open up the first lead for the Raptors. He continues to impress over his last couple games, settling in nicely.

Later in the quarter, despite having some trouble missing shots, there was tremendous effort put forth in securing extra possessions. Poeltl and Quickley were all over the floor more than anyone else, securing extra boards and 50/50 balls that helped keep the Raptors ahead at the half 61-56.

To start the third quarter, Scottie had an excellent cut that led to an open shot under the rim. The second shot was off a cut by RJ who broke free for a dunk. The Raptors’ pace and passing were still on full display early, but a few defensive lapses allowed the Pacers to get back within a point.

Despite a bit of an offensive drought, free throws by Scottie seemed to reignite the offence, followed by three excellent plays at the rim utilizing extra passes to get the best look possible. Another transition 3-pointer from Quickley extended the lead to 12.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Jakob Poeltl came down awkwardly on his ankle, which at first was thought to be minor, but turned out to be another sprain. His presence in the paint in this game was undeniably important, with 15-11-4 in only 22 minutes of action.

The bench substitutions led to a bit of a lull in the offence, and the lead dwindled, a mix of struggling to find their own shot, and remarkable makes by the Pacers. Bennedict Mathurin feasted late in the quarter, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the frame with only 3 minutes to go. Even still, the Raptors were able to stay up 90-87.

In the final frame, the defence looked shaky, with the Pacers able to convert their first four possessions. Gradey kept things alive for the Raps, with a 3-pointer and layup that prevented a run for the opposing team and Ochai and Scottie found each other on consecutive possessions as well.

The continued absence of Poeltl in the paint could’ve hurt the Raps’ rebounding, but Olynyk held his own, denying a PNR play for the Pacers that opened up the floor for a third transition 3-pointer by Quickley. Despite a timeout by the Pacers, the momentum had clearly shifted in the Raps’ favour.

Gradey highlighted the quarter, cashing in two more threes and continued to make hustle plays that provided extra possessions for the Raptors.

Taking everything the Pacers threw at them and responding with force, the Raptors were able to make it a three possession game late in the quarter, the result of a wide open 3 by RJ and savvy layups by Quickley and Scottie.

The exclamation point for the win was a successful challenge by Darko on a closeout by Quickley that was originally called a foul. With a two possession lead, an inbounds play for an and-one for Scottie opened up the lead even further and one final denial by Scottie on a 3-point attempt closed the door on Indiana completely.

It seems as though this game is a great example of the vision for this team moving forward, with improved passing and movement on and off the ball that provided excellent scoring opportunities. Postgame, Scottie pointed out the success they had was largely based on the excellent ball movement and the contributions from everyone making shots. It’s nice to see Scottie shout out his teammates as he continues to grow as the team’s leader. Throughout the game, he found opportunities to chip in from the bench and help the other guys, and it’ll be nice to watch him continue to develop as a leader as well.

So with that, the Raptors return to Toronto for a home-stand (but hopefully not before a pizza party). Their first opponent will be the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday at 7:30 pm, so tune in on SportsNet, hopefully to see the streak continue.