DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Indiana Pacers 89-84 in the seventh game of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series Sunday night.
The Raptors advance to face the Miami Heat in the second round, with Game 1 on Tuesday in Toronto. The Heat eliminated the Charlotte Hornets in Game 7 earlier on Sunday.
The Raptors led most of the way and used a 28-20 third-quarter surge to take a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Toronto pushed the lead up to 16 points early in the fourth quarter before the Pacers climbed within three points with 2:36 to play.
Indiana had the ball with 26.9 seconds to play and the Toronto lead still at three, but the Raptors made the stop. DeRozan sank two free throws to stretch the lead to five with 6.5 seconds left to clinch the game.
Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Toronto, Norman Powell scored 13 points, and Patrick Patterson had 11. Kyle Lowry added 11 points and nine assists, and Bismack Biyombo contributed three points and 11 rebounds.
Paul George scored 26 points and had 12 rebounds for Indiana. George Hill added 19 and Monta Ellis 15. According to ESPN, George broke Indiana’s playoff-series record with 191 points, topping the mark of 181 set by Reggie Miller in the 1995 Eastern Conference finals.
Led by 13 points by DeRozan, the Raptors were ahead 28-23 after the first quarter. George guided the Pacers with 12 first-quarter points but also picked up two personal fouls.
The Raptors led by as many as eight in the second quarter before settling for a 50-44 edge at the intermission. The Pacers biggest lead in both the first and second quarters was one.
George led all first-half scorers with 17 points. DeRozan led the Raptors with 15, and Valanciunas and Powell had points 10 each.
Neither team scored in the first two minutes of the second half before Patterson hit a 3-pointer to give the Raptors a nine-point lead.
The Raptors increased their lead to 58-46 when DeMarre Carroll made a 3-point shot.
After a Pacers turnover, Patterson made a 3-pointer to extend the margin to 15. George responded with a 3-pointer for the Pacers. Field goals by Ellis and Solomon Hill trimmed Toronto’s lead to eight.
The Raptors was on top by 14 points after a jump shot by DeRozan.
After Indiana cut the lead to nine on a 3-pointer by George Hill, DeRozan reeled off six straight points and Toronto led by 15.
Toronto’s advantage was 78-64 after three quarters.
The Raptors’ lead reached 16 points with 7:31 to play in the fourth on Cory Joseph’s jumper.
The Pacers cut the lead to 10 with six minutes to play on a jumper by George.
Indiana made a shot from 3-point range, but it came after the 24-second clock expired and did not count.
Ellis got the Pacers to within eight, and when Ellis hit a 3-pointer, the lead was down to three.
Lowry got the edge back to five points with two minutes left on a driving layup.
After Lowry missed a shot, the Pacers committed a turnover on their possession.
The Raptors missed their chance, and George went to the line with 52.4 seconds to play, cutting the lead to three by making both free throws.
The Pacers stopped the Raptors and took possession with 26.9 seconds left.
© Reuters
