Norman Powell of the Toronto Raptors dunks the ball late in the second half of Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
The Toronto Raptors were using a combination of players they had never used before when they dug out of a 13-point hole in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's Game 5 versus the Indiana Pacers. They hope to bottle whatever late-game magic helped them walk off with one of the most memorable playoff victories in franchise history.
After a horrid first three quarters, the Raptors started the fourth with a small lineup to expedite scoring. The combo of DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell, Bismack Biyombo and Cory Joseph had never even run a play together in practice – nor had the lineup that resulted when Terrence Ross subbed in briefly for DeRozan.
The Raptors played with a desperation they had lacked in the series – one they hope to emulate in Game 6 in Indianapolis on Friday, as they attempt to capture their first playoff series since 2001.
Here, we dissect significant moments from that epic fourth quarter, in which Toronto outscored the Paul George-led Pacers 25-9.
9:04 IND 90, TOR 77
In a series riddled with missed shots by Lowry, the all-star guard hits a 19-footer that kick-starts an 8-0 run to start the quarter.
8:52 IND 90, TOR 81
Three rebounds into his seven-board quarter, Biyombo further asserts his physical presence in the paint by leaping at a lob from Lowry and delivering a huge dunk. Lowry crafts this by driving to the hoop and making Indy pay for double-teaming him by dishing off.
6:51 IND 92, TOR 87
The crowd is wild just seconds after Indy's Rodney Stuckey stumbles out of bounds under pressure, right into Drake, who claps right behind his head. So what Ross does next makes the place erupt. On a night in which he plays just 14 minutes and takes six attempts from three-point land, this timely 24-footer is the only one that falls for Ross. It comes off a crafty pass from Joseph that puts the Raptors within two. "That's big confidence, how he changed up the lineup and his minutes weren't what they usually are," DeRozan said. "That's big for T Ross just to come in there and still be aggressive. That kind of changed the game for us."
6:34 IND 92, TOR 90
Powell intercepts a bad pass from Monta Ellis and speeds down the floor to score on a dunk to tie the game. "There were so many different dunks I was thinking about doing, that I kind of overthought it and the ball slipped out of my hand a little bit," Powell said. "But I just knew that I had to throw it down as hard as I could to get the crowd into it. I think it gave us a tremendous energy boost. Seeing the guys get into it, seeing the crowd go crazy, after that we went on another run."
4:15 IND 92, TOR 92
Lowry drives to the hoop and kicks a pass out to DeRozan on the wing, who nails a three to give Toronto its first lead of the night – and Toronto's two all-stars show the prowess they'd been missing so far in the series. "He didn't have the defence coming at him, he was open," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "Kyle did a great job of drawing and kicking. I thought that was a huge difference with our small lineup: our draw-and-kick game."
3:26 TOR 95, IND 92
DeRozan drives to the hoop, taking defenders to him but passes out to Joseph, who coolly drains a three. "I tried to get the Indiana guys to draw in, thinking I was going to go to the rim," DeRozan said. "But I had Cory on my mind the whole time."
0:47 TOR 100, IND 96
When Powell's three-point attempt bounces off the rim, several Pacers seem poised to grab the rebound with enough time left to make two buckets and even the score. But Lowry leaps into the pack and tips the rebound backward to DeRozan, who freezes it. "It may not show with the points or the stat sheet," DeRozan said. "But it's a lot of things that Kyle does that help us to victory every single night."
Rachel Brady