It was a barnburner in basketball country on Wednesday night and the Raptors pulled one out over Indiana … barely.
Buddy Hield fired a long three-pointer off the backboard, the rim and out at the buzzer after Gary Trent missed a pair of free throws, and the Raptors escaped with a 132-131 victory.
Hield had hit seven three-pointers earlier and superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton was looking for his 17th assist on the play (along with 33 points), but Hield just missed.
Pascal Siakam was spectacular for the Raptors, scoring 36 points, including 13 in the third quarter, Dennis Schroder added 26, Scottie Barnes 20 and both teams shot over 53% from the field in the old-fashioned shootout.
Other than in the first few minutes of the game, the Raptors looked unrecognizable from the group that had played one of its worst games of the season a night earlier, a 126-107 loss in Orlando.
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam drives toward the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, in Indianapolis. PHOTO BY MARC LEBRYK /AP Photo
Hield had hit seven three-pointers earlier and superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton was looking for his 17th assist on the play (along with 33 points), but Hield just missed.
Pascal Siakam was spectacular for the Raptors, scoring 36 points, including 13 in the third quarter, Dennis Schroder added 26, Scottie Barnes 20 and both teams shot over 53% from the field in the old-fashioned shootout.
Other than in the first few minutes of the game, the Raptors looked unrecognizable from the group that had played one of its worst games of the season a night earlier, a 126-107 loss in Orlando.
This Toronto team didn’t look lost offensively and didn’t look half asleep or nonchalant. And this Toronto team went blow for blow with the best offensive team in the NBA and came out on top.
Indiana was coming off an absolutely bananas 157-152 regulation win over Atlanta. Haliburton had scored 37 in that one and added 16 assists. Haliburton came into the game leading the league in assists, assists per game and a variety of advanced offensive stats. As a team, Indiana had averaged a whopping 122.6 points per 100 possessions, which would be an all-time NBA best for a full season, but was giving back 120.2, second-worst behind only Charlotte.
Indiana was missing reserve guard Andrew Nembhard, of Aurora, Ont., who lit up the Raptors in his return home last season in a win.
Leave a Reply