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Raptors, Pacers meet in Game 5 Friday night
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 4/29/2016  at  12:55:00 PM
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TORONTO RAPTORS (59-28)

at INDIANA PACERS (47-40)

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 1
Tip-off: Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Indiana -2.0, Total: 193.5

The Raptors will be hoping to earn their first series victory since 2001 when they face the Pacers in Game 6 in Indiana on Friday.

The Raptors were down by as many as 17 points in a home Game 5, but they mounted a massive comeback and ended up winning 102-99 as seven-point favorites in the game. Toronto allowed Indiana to shoot 45.2% from the floor and shot just 40.2% itself, but the team got stops when it needed to and pulled out a gutsy win. One thing worth noting when looking at this game is that the total has gone UNDER in six of the past eight meetings between these teams at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Raptors are an impressive 22-10 ATS in road games after failing to cover the spread in two straight contests over the past three seasons. The Pacers, meanwhile, are 12-4 ATS when playing with two days rest this season and 23-10 ATS after having lost three of their past four games over the past two seasons. Both of these teams will be healthy coming into this game, so injuries should not determine the outcome in this pivotal Game 6.

The Raptors looked like they were heading towards yet another first round exit, but they were able to rally back and win a huge Game 5 in Toronto. This team is likely brimming with confidence, but it will need a big performance from PG Kyle Lowry (15.2 PPG, 6.8 APG, 1.2 SPG in playoffs) soon. SG DeMar DeRozan (17.4 PPG, 1.4 SPG in playoffs) finally snapped out of his slump, scoring 34 points on 22 attempts from the field in Game 5. Lowry, however, is shooting just 31.4% from the floor in this series and has not had any of his signature big games yet. He’s due for one soon and it’d be big for the Raptors if he can get it going on Friday. Toronto can also use a solid two-way performance from C Jonas Valanciunas (14.2 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.4 BPG in playoffs). Valanciunas had 11 points, five boards and two blocks in 23 minutes of action against the Pacers in Game 5. The team did, however, play its best basketball with him off the floor. That means that he’ll need to show more of an effort on both ends, as Toronto needs him to be on the court in order to play its best basketball.

The Pacers are going to have a lot of trouble getting over their Game 5 collapse, but they need to find a way to win at home on Friday. If Indiana is going to do that then the team will need another huge performance SF Paul George (28.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs). George had 39 points, eight assists, eight boards and two steals in 41 minutes of action in Game 5. He is the best player in this series and the Raptors really haven’t had an answer for him lately. George has an incredible jumper and he uses his length and athleticism to get to the charity stripe frequently. He should be in for another huge game on Friday, but he’ll need somebody else to step up and help him in this one. The guy that will be counted on to do that is SG Monta Ellis (10.4 PPG, 2.2 SPG in playoffs). Ellis has been a non-factor offensively in this series and that needs to change soon. He has averaged 18.7 PPG over the course of his career and is capable of scoring in this series as well. PG George Hill (12.8 PPG in playoffs) and C Myles Turner (10.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.4 BPG in playoffs) are also guys that can take pressure off of George in this game. Both of them play good defense and are capable of knocking down shots.


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