Pacers at Raptors
The Indiana Pacers will have little time to recover from a rare home loss when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. Seeking their second six-game winning streak in a month, the Pacers were thwarted by the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. David West and Paul George combined for 42 points for Indiana, which played without suspended center Roy Hibbert. The big man will return to help out a club that was outscored in the paint by a 50-32 margin.
After getting an initial boost with the Rudy Gay trade, Toronto has dropped three of its last four, including two games at home. It is coming off a 103-92 loss at Cleveland on Wednesday, despite Demar DeRozan's 34 points and despite the fact that the Cavaliers played without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. The Raptors had an early 14-point lead before getting outplayed over the final three quarters. They are six games behind Milwaukee in the race for the final playoff spot in the East. Toronto visits the Bucks on Saturday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Indiana, TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE PACERS (36-22): Oddly enough, Indiana has suffered two of its six home losses this season to Toronto, but it did win at Air Canada Centre on opening night. Hibbert had the first of his 12 double-doubles in that one, but his absence Thursday while paying a penalty for a fight against Golden State was notable. In addition to being outscored in the paint by 18 points, the Pacers, who entered the night ranked third in the NBA in blocks per game, had just four against the Clippers. The loss dropped Indiana into a tie with New York, 6 1/2 games behind East-leading Miami.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (23-35): It has been all or nothing for Gay of late. After scoring 11 points on a dismal 4-for-21 showing in the final game before the All-Star break, he bounced back to score 24 against Washington on Feb. 19, only to produce 13 points and five turnovers against Memphis the next night. He rebounded with 32 points two nights later, tanked to a seven-point, five-turnover performance in another matchup with the Wizards and then had the 24 points, eight rebounds and a season high-tying six assists vs. Cleveland.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. All three meetings this season have been decided by two points.
2. C Ian Mahinmi made his first start of the season in place of Hibbert. He had five points and five rebounds.
3. Toronto plays its next four games on the road.
PREDICTION: Pacers 93, Raptors 91