Raptors at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers have insisted they have the roster to compete with the defending-champion Miami Heat for top spot in the Eastern Conference. They have lived up to that bold claim so far, and come into Friday night's game against the visiting Toronto Raptors as the league's lone remaining unbeaten team. Indiana has kicked off the season with five consecutive victories, while Toronto enters the game looking to erase the bitter taste of a narrow loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.
Indiana leans heavily on forward Paul George, who is emerging as one of the top scoring options in the NBA. George scored a game-high 21 points as the Pacers used their league-best defense to subdue the Chicago Bulls 97-80 on Wednesday. The Raptors finds themselves a game below .500 as forward Rudy Gay struggles with his shot, and Toronto as a whole finds itself operating at one of the slowest paces in the league.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN2 (Toronto), FSN Indiana
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (2-3): Toronto head coach Dwane Casey had some explaining to do following Wednesday's 92-90 defeat in Charlotte. Promising center Jonas Valanciunas was absent for the entire fourth quarter - a development Casey justified by saying he was concerned about Valanciunas' struggles with help defense. Casey had a tougher time legitimizing his decision not to foul on the Bobcats' final possession, which resulted in a missed shot but left no time left on the clock for Toronto to tie or win the game.
ABOUT THE PACERS (5-0): Roy Hibbert is a big man - and he's talking a big game as the Pacers eye a return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. Hibbert took to Twitter following the win over the Bulls, following a 10-rebound, five-block performance with a message suggesting he's after the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Not only did the 7-foot-2 behemoth not back down from his original statement, he went on to say that he believes George will contend for Most Valuable Player honors.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The road team has won six of the last seven encounters.
2. Gay is shooting just 33.7 percent from the field on the season.
3. George (25.8 points) has led the Pacers in scoring in all but one of the five victories.