Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan drives to the net as Indiana Pacers forward Paul George defends during their NBA playoff game at the Air Canada Centre on May 1, 2016.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Raptors delivered something many doubted they would, overcoming the noise that reverberated about their failings in the past two postseasons. They won the team's first playoff series since 2001, defeating the Indiana Pacers 89-84 in Sunday's tense Game 7, earning a second-round meeting with the Miami Heat.
Led by 30 points from DeMar DeRozan, the No. 2-seeded Raptors eliminated the seventh-seeded Pacers. Kyle Lowry had 11 points as his shooting woes continued, but he contributed nine assists. Indiana superstar Paul George had 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting as the Raptors survived Indiana's furious late-game surge to win their first Game 7 in franchise history.
The noisy Air Canada Centre faithful were dressed in red and white playoff T-shirts that read "416" and "Since '95." Drake arrived uncharacteristically early and stood at his courtside seat watching warmups. The tension was thick.
One couldn't help but replay memories of exactly two years ago, when the Raptors faced the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 of an opening-round playoff series on a Sunday in Toronto. Just like in that series, the Raps were coming off a Game 6 in which they choked away a chance to finish the series. The Raptors lost a heartbreaking Game 7 that year, then were swept the next year by the Washington Wizards. With those ghosts in the room, few knew what to predict this time – even from a Toronto squad that won a franchise record 56 regular season games.
"Everyone wrote the Raptors off and gave us up for dead," Toronto Coach Dwane Casey said. "I read some of the stuff, not only from here but around the country, about how Indiana was going to win…I like it. I think our guys used that as motivation."
After a series full of shaky-shooting moments from Toronto's two all-stars, both DeRozan and Lowry drained their first field goal attempts of the night, to a roar from the anxious crowd.
The teams went bucket for bucket in the first, DeRozan knocking them down at one end and George at the other. The Raptors went without a turnover through the first eight minutes, but then committed two quick ones – one of which George took in for a cocky and casual 360-degree dunk.
The crowd jeered everything George did – every basket, foul, touch or frown. He had 12 points by the end of the quarter, while DeRozan had 13, and Toronto held a 28-23 lead.
The Raptors' bench kept the pace in the second before starters transitioned back in. The Pacers continued to smother Lowry with double and triple teams and crush him with physical screens – one of which knocked him to the hardwood for an anxious moment. Rookie Norman Powell took advantage of what that opened for him, hitting a trio of threes and scoring with crafty moves in the paint for a ten-point quarter. He did it while sharing defensive duties on George with DeMarre Carroll. Toronto remained ahead 50-44 by half-time.
"I pulled Norm Powell aside and gave props to him and respect," George said. "I was in that position as a rookie, having to guard the best player at the time, Derrick Rose."
The Raptors began the second half with an 11-2 run. Patrick Patterson got loose and hit three from beyond the arc, while DeRozan exploded for a 13-point quarter, following each bucket with his signature sneer as the crowd was deliriously loud. The Raps took a 78-64 lead into the final quarter.
The Pacers kept everyone's stomachs churning by changing the tide dramatically in the closing minutes. They outscored Toronto 20-11 in the fourth quarter behind George, Monta Ellis and George Hill, chipping to within three in the final minute. Indiana looked like they might rip the game away. Toronto caused a couple of turnovers in the dying seconds and George missed his final shot under pressure to secure the win.
Powell finished the night with 13 points, Patterson had 11 and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 along with 15 rebounds. DeRozan's 30 points came on 10-of-32 shooting.
"I don't care if he shot 40 times," Lowry said. "He emptied the clip and we won."
The winner of the turnover battle had thrived so far in the series, and that trend remained in Game 7. Toronto, had nine on this occasion that cost them nine points. Indiana had 15 for 18 points.
After that emotional win, the Raptors will have a quick turnaround. They open the Eastern Conference semi-finals at home, welcoming the Heat on Tuesday.
"It was great, the energy, the moment – a lot of people don't get the opportunity to play in a Game 7 with everything on the line," DeRozan said. "Everything this team has been through, it's tough to get that moment duplicated. So you want to live it and enjoy every minute of it."
Rachel Brady