Raptors rout Pacers 02.23.2007
|
Jorge Garbajosa notched 16 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors, who have won three of their last four games and are 20-8 as the host this season. Rasho Nesterovic had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Andrea Bargnani contributed 13 points. Anthony Parker had 12 points, and Jose Calderon added 12 assists.
The trade deadline passed Thursday afternoon and the Raptors made a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, acquiring guard Juan Dixon in exchange for guard/forward Fred Jones. Dixon sat out, though, as Jones hadn’t passed his physical with Portland yet.
Jamaal Tinsley posted 19 points and eight assists for the Pacers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 11-15 as the visitor this season. Jermaine O’Neal had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Darrell Armstrong chipped in 13 points off the bench. Danny Granger added 10 points.
Toronto got going right away, opening the game on a 10-2 run, capped by a Bosh slam with 7:22 remaining in the first, and led 22-17 heading into the second quarter.
"We are just working on jumping on teams," Bosh said. "That’s what all the good teams do, come out hot and if we get out to a big lead we can play comfortably."
The Raptors added to their lead by starting the second on a 12-6 run to extend the margin to 34-23 with 8:24 left. They held a 62-46 halftime advantage despite Armstrong’s shot from near halfcourt at the end of the period.
The Raptors came out of the locker room without missing a beat, starting the second half on an 11-0 burst, finished by a Bosh alley-oop from T.J. Ford with 9:43 remaining, and carried a commanding 91-64 lead into the fourth.
The Pacers finally came alive in the fourth, opening the stanza on an 18-1 run, culminated by a Maceo Baston finger roll with 6:51 remaining to cut their deficit to just 10, 92-82. However, Toronto quickly regained control down the stretch. The Raptors never trailed in the contest.
"We were on our heels really from the beginning of the game," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "They played with a lot of aggression and we were just a step behind most of the night."
Toronto finished 13-for-20 from beyond the arc, and shot 41-for-73 (56 percent) from the field, compared to just 34-for-88 (39 percent) by Indiana.
Game Notes
Friday’s showdown between Indiana and Toronto was the third and final meeting of the regular season. Toronto took the series, 2-1.