Norman Powell #24 of the Toronto Raptors dunks the ball late in the second half of Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Indiana Pacers during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 26, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
Rookie Norman Powell was one of the stars in the fourth quarter of the Toronto Raptors' epic Game 5 comeback win over the Indiana Pacers. But in the final two seconds, as the Raptors clung to a 102-99 lead and he chased Paul George, Powell also made a mistake that he could have long regretted.
The Pacers were inbounding under their own basket, hoping to tie the game and send it to overtime, so the Raps made a plan. George would almost certainly receive the ball, and Powell was to slap it away for a steal or foul George if he motioned to dribble.
In those two seconds, George raced around, caught the ball, dribbled, and then zipped a fast pass to wide-open teammate Solomon Hill. It happened in such a dizzying flash, that Powell didn't reach in quickly enough to foul, and Hill scored an open three. Luckily for Toronto, video review showed that Hill didn't get that shot off before the buzzer, giving the Raps the win and a 3-2 series lead with a chance to clinch the team's first playoff series in 15 years on Friday in Game 6.
It also provided a valuable learning experience for the player chosen 46th in the last NBA draft, and Powell has meticulously studied game film of his mistake.
"After the game, he was almost distraught, like 'I didn't do the right thing,' but he wants to do the right thing all the time – he's so coachable," said Raptors assistant coach Jama Mahlalela. "For him, there were leaps and bounds of growth done in that two seconds of film and now that will probably never happen to him again in his career. He loves watching film – he knows the mistakes before I even press play, and that's so impressive from a rookie."
How much the rookie will be used in Game 6 is anyone's guess. He started Game 1 and played 17 minutes. He came off the bench in Game 2 just three minutes into the game to defend George after DeMarre Carroll got into foul trouble. He played just three minutes in Toronto's shabby Game 3 loss, but then had 10-point performances in both Games 4 and 5, highlighted by his game-tying dunk Tuesday night off a crafty steal.
"I give myself up no matter what my role is, and I play with passion and heart," Powell said. "I just told myself, I've put in the work and time and I've dreamed of being on this stage my whole life, so I should go out and prove to people that I belong."
The 22-year-old guard, who played four years at UCLA, started 24 games this year and defended players such as James Harden and Russell Westbrook. So it's no surprise he's been asked to help on George.
The task gets tougher on Friday as George will be desperate to avoid elimination and could play the entire 48 minutes. Indy coach Frank Vogel was criticized for leaving his star on the bench too long as the Raptors kick-started that fourth-quarter Game 5 comeback. George said he could play the whole game – and do so at a high level – if asked to.
"If that's the direction the game is going, I'm all for it," George told Indiana media on Thursday. "We had a chance to make Friday night a special night, a closeout game here, and we blew it."
Hundreds of Toronto fans are once again scooping up tickets to watch the game in Indianapolis. The Pacers announced they will give out gold T-shirts at the game with an outline of the state of Indiana and the words "United State of Basketball, #WeTheGold."
Raptor Patrick Patterson wasn't surprised at the imitation, saying that when Raptors fans sing the Canadian anthem loudly wherever they go, it really gets noticed. Then suddenly they see opposing fans singing the U.S. anthem loudly in response.
"Same thing probably with, 'We The Gold'," Patterson said. "Just because we do 'We The North', they're just trying to find something to get at us."
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