Pacers at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors continue to perform below the standard of a 56-win
team and look to get their act together when they host the Indiana
Pacers in Tuesday's Game 5 of the first-round series. The Pacers posted
an impressive 100-83 victory in Game 4 to tie the series at 2-2 and a
second win in Toronto would put seventh-seeded Indiana in the driver's
seat.
The main issue for the second-seeded Raptors continues to be the subpar play of the All-Star backcourt of point guard Kyle Lowry and shooting guard DeMar DeRozan. Lowry is averaging just 15.5 points on 32.2 percent shooting and DeRozan is performing even worse with a 13.3 average and 29.6 percent shooting. "Give Indiana credit, they've done a good job on DeMar and Kyle," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "But we haven't seen their best, they know that and it may not be by scoring points, it may be by moving the basketball, it may be by helping defensively." Pacers All-Star forward Paul George has been superb in the series with a 26.3 average and finally received some help from his teammates as point guard George Hill (9-of-11 shooting) and center Ian Mahinmi (10 rebounds) each tallied 22 points in the Game 4 victory.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, TNT, Sportsnet (Toronto)
ABOUT THE PACERS: George's 19 points on Saturday was his lowest output of the series but he was excited about receiving some offensive help along with the defensive effort that included twice holding Toronto to 16 points in a quarter. "This was how I wanted this team to respond, how I wanted us to respond to the Game 3 loss," George told reporters. "I thought we were very pissed off and very attentive and very focused to even the series out. We knew we let one go in Game 3 and had a great opportunity to go up in the series." Hill is averaging 17.5 points in the past two games while Mahinmi's contributions were stunning after he averaged 4.3 points and four rebounds over the first three games.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS: Lowry (12 points) and DeRozan (eight) were a combined 8-of-27 from the field in the Game 4 defeat and Toronto can't find an offensive flow with both cornerstones shooting so poorly. "I would be lying to you if I said I'm not upset with how I'm playing," Lowry told reporters. "But I have to stay positive and lead these guys - and that's what I'm going to do no matter how I'm shooting the ball." DeRozan's aggressiveness is practically nonexistent as he has failed to attempt a free throw in two different games after averaging 8.4 attempts during the regular season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. There has yet to be a close game in the series - both teams' two victories have been by an average of 13.5 points.
2. Indiana SG Monta Ellis has scored just seven points in each of the past two games and is averaging 11 in the series.
3. Toronto SF DeMarre Carroll is averaging 14.5 points over the past two games after averaging four points in the first two contests.