From the Milton Sports Guy:
Raptors 123 Pacers 112
The Indiana Pacers came to town Tuesday night and played some tough D on Raptor star Chris Bosh who scored a tough 16 points on only 5 of 19 shooting.
For once, his teammates had his back.
And it was the Raptor point guards who had it going on this night, namely the much maligned combo of Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack. Calderon finished with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting and 7 assists and Jack, facing his former team, was 7 for 7 from the field and had 18 points and 6 assists. They led the way as the Raptors jumped out to yet another huge second quarter lead at home and then held on for the win.
We should also mention that Andrea Bargnani also had a nice fourth quarter. He went all Dirk-like, in nailing a series of mid-range jumpers (3 in a row at one point) after Indiana had closed to within 5 points to maintain a double-digit Raptor lead after the team’s usual lax second half defensive effort.
The Pacer comeback was paced by some tough, energetic D on Bosh and Turkoglu and a series of second chance opportunities thanks to some good work on the offensive glass.
Oh, and Danny Granger went off.
After a 3 for 12 first half, he torched the Raps in the second half and finished with 36 on the night.
But the Raptors staved off the Pacers in the fourth, thanks to clutch shooting by Bargs and Jack late in the fourth to keep Indiana from getting too close. Even more impressive than the Raptor guard play might have been the fact that Calderon and Jack were effective on the floor together down the stretch, in contrast to recent games where that combo has been a huge defensive liability and stagnant on offense.
Another positive for Toronto was the second unit, which is really starting to develop an identity for itself thanks to the energy of Jack, Belinelli and Amir Johnson. Tonight’s big boost off the bench was from Rasho Nesterovic, also playing against his former team tonight. Anything from Rasho has to be seen as a bonus given his struggles this season, but he was solid, scoring 12 points and adding 7 rebounds in 16 minutes during a stretch in the second quarter in which Toronto extended their early lead.
As for Bosh, well, give him credit for not settling for jump shots late and continuing to try to take it to the hole. Was it just me, or was he just getting hammered in there? The officials weren’t exactly giving him LeBron or Wade-type respect out there tonight. At one point, he just stared down one of the refs after a non-call. Again, that was a blue collar 16 points he put up tonight and it was nice to see the rest of the guys step up.
This was a big win for Toronto who now head out on the road for tough games in Charlotte and Boston before matching up against the Suns in a Sunday matinée at the ACC.
As mentioned before, their 7-8 start is less than ideal, but solid given the fact that Toronto has played the 2nd toughest schedule in the league so far based on last year’s playoff teams (which doesn’t include the Suns remember — a pretty darn good team who failed to make the postseason in the West).
If the Raps can keep things going tomorrow in Charlotte, it would be a great sign that the team is coming together. However, a loss will put them in a tough situation with two of the league’s best on deck.
Either way, Toronto has proven to be an entertaining watch thus far — don’t look for the intrigue to end anytime soon.
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The Milton Sports Guy is a regular contributor to MiltonSearch.com.
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Indiana really can’t play defense.
Toronto really can’t play defense, either.
Toronto really earned this win, offensively. They were great on that end. The way they worked, and passed, and finished? This could have happened against a top-notch defensive outfit.
Indiana didn’t earn the win offensively, clearly. The team mainly scored because Toronto is awful defensively. Not a lot of people have figured out that Indiana is really awful offensively, too.
28 assists on 43 field goals for Toronto, who worked its way toward 74 first half points. 74. And it looked the part. If anything, we should be criticizing the Raps’ for not hitting the century mark after the first 24 minutes.
The Pacers came back, the very next half. Danny Granger (36 points) started hitting from behind the arc, Jeff Foster moved his feet defensively, and the Raptors defended like the 30th-ranked defensive team that they are.
What was surprising was that the Pacers played better offensively (the squad is 25th in offensive efficiency) than they’re used to.