NBA playoffs 2016: Raptors charge back to beat Pacers, Hawks offense reignites

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Blake Griffin is out for the rest of the playoffs. Chris Paul had hand surgery on Tuesday. Weep for the Clippers. Limited Upside podcast on the matter.

But this Raptors team wasn’t going to let it go down like that.

If they are ever going to shake their playoff demons, the fourth quarter of Game 5 could be the starting point.

Shaquille O’Neal loves to dance. He did a lot of it during his NBA career, including a memorable All-Star dance off with LeBron James and Dwight Howard. He may be retired from the NBA now, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped dancing. He even came up with a new dance that he’s calling the gorilla dab.

While talking about the contest to give away $1,000, Shaq decided to put his moves on display on Inside the NBA.

Thomas drove to the lane for a finger roll to cut the Boston Celtics deficit to 29 with 10:25 remaining, but landed awkwardly on his left ankle. He ran gingerly down the court after the play, but committed a foul in order to be taken out of the game. He didn’t even stop at the bench, instead running straight to the locker room to be examined.

The Celtics were struggling in Game 5 when Thomas left, falling behind by as many as 31. Thomas had only seven points on 3-of-12 shooting and had dished out three assists. Before Tuesday’s game, he was averaging 28.3 points per game in the playoffs.

UPDATE: Drake deleted the Instagram post. But don’t you worry, I have a screen shot.

Deleted or not, the comments section still agreed with us.

Toronto outscored the Pacers 25-9 at the end of regulation. The Raptors now lead the series 3-2.

Reminder: this is the second playoff game to be decided by, like, .001 seconds.

The Toronto Raptors mounted a fierce fourth quarter comeback on Tuesday against the Pacers, and of course Drake loved every second of it. He seemed especially fond on a turnover by Rodney Stuckey and made sure to let Stuckey know he appreciated it.

Drake trash talking Raptors opponents has become a staple of Toronto games. This wasn’t quite as good as the time he trash talked the Bulls’ Justin Holiday into a five-second call though.

Millsap dominated much of the game by scoring a playoff career-high 45 points, but he only took two shots in overtime and didn’t score a single point. The Hawks managed just three points in the extra frame, and they’ve now lost nine straight overtime contests.

The Hawks dominated the last game in Atlanta, so perhaps being back on their home floor will rejuvenate them. But the Celtics are riding high, and the Hawks must figure out a better way to deal with Boston’s chaos after failing to do so the last two games.

Toronto may be able to dispatch Indiana even with its star backcourt struggling, but the team would rather not have to find out if that’s the case, and the pair will have to find its groove at some point if the Raptors are going to make any significant noise in the postseason. A big performance on their home court would be a good start.

Place: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada