Tomorrow is day two of the back-to-back match-up between the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers. The Raptors won yesterday, 119-118, after coming back from a sizable deficit. It was the defending champs’ 12th straight victory.
Still, the home and road records are identical, the season series is tied at 1-1, and both love to play some good ‘ol, hard-nosed defense. The battle should remain interesting.
HOME TEAM: Indiana Pacers (31-20, 18-7 at home)
The Pacers have lost three straight games and each loss has its own ugly story line – one was against the lowly New York Knicks, the other was with the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks, and the most recent was a choke job versus the Raptors, where they squandered a 19-point lead.
Despite all that, the Pacers are still a strong contender moving forward. The team is still an overachieving bunch for the most part.
Malcolm Brogdon (16.9 PPG, 7.3 APG) and All-Star Domantas Sabonis (18.3 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 4.7 APG) will continue headlining Indy’s attack. Defensive anchor Myles Turner may start to get more opportunities on offense as well.
Number two scorer TJ Warren missed Thursday’s meeting due to a concussion, and he’s still unsure for tomorrow. Jeremy Lamb (12.7 PPG), Doug McDermott (14.5 PPG in his last 11), and Justin Holiday are among the guys that will fill his spot – the latter scored 22 points with six threes yesterday.
ROAD TEAM: Toronto Raptors (37-14, 18-7 on the road)
The Raptors are on a high riding a franchise record 12-game winning streak. There’s a lot of good numbers on both end of the floor too, as they are scoring 120.3 points and forcing 17.9 turnovers per game.
A trio of fine performances pushed the Raps’ record-setting victory yesterday – Kyle Lowry had a double-double of 32 points and 10 assists, Pascal Siakam was in his usual scoring norm of 25 points, and Serge Ibaka scored a season-high 30, including a go-ahead three-pointer with under 30 seconds remaining.
Siakam (21.3 PPG) and Lowry (17.7 PPG, 6.2 APG) are delivering their usual numbers in the sizable streak, but Ibaka deserves the brightest spotlight for now as he continues to have a sudden burst. He’s currently in his hottest run all season, averaging 23.4 points on 64%-shooting over his last five games.
PREDICTION:
Lowry and Brogdon’s playmaking should provide an entertaining back-and-forth, as well as Sabonis taking on the red-hot Ibaka.
In the end, the Pacers will avenge Thursday’s choke and snap the Raptors’ streak with a 112-109 win.
