The Pacers were so close to holding on in Game 5 against the Raptors. One more bounce, one more make, one more tenth of a second on the clock, and they would have been heading back to Indiana in possession of a 3-2 series lead. Instead, they blew a 13-point fourth quarter cushion and fell in Toronto to the Raptors, 102-99. Now, the Raptors are one game away from ending Indiana's season.
The Raptors’ comeback Game 5 win over the Pacers revealed the character of both teams
In terms of talent, the second-seeded Raptors and No. 7 Pacers are much closer to each other than their regular season records suggest. At the same time, that fourth quarter also showed why that wins gulf existed.
Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
It’s rare to see a No. 7 and No. 2 seeds appear so evenly matched, but that’s what makes this series and the NBA playoffs so interesting. If baseball is a game of inches, then basketball is one of execution. The bounces matter and often change the courses of games and seasons, but during playoff crunch time, the team with superior execution is the one that usually sees the bounces go its way.
The fourth quarter of Game 5 revealed why two teams with even talent had a double-digit win difference during the regular season.
Crunch time has been a problem for the Pacers all season
Turns out there are many reasons the Pacers lost 20 games with a fourth-quarter lead this season, despite having an elite defense and one of the league’s best players in Paul George. Those reasons were on full display Tuesday night, as they watched Toronto outscore them 25-9 in the fourth quarter to lose the game.
Turnovers were the chief issue. Indiana coughed the ball up five times over the game’s final 12 minutes, and four of those five were the result of careless plays.
Things weren’t pretty when the Pacers managed to hang onto the ball, either. They took too long to get into their offense and often appeared befuddled within their sets. They went entire possessions without getting the ball to George, who attempted just three shots in the fourth quarter after scoring 37 points in the first three.
As is their custom, the Pacers botched a crucial late-game offensive play. Down three with under 10 seconds remaining, Pacers guard Monta Ellis hijacked their penultimate possession to recklessly drive to the hoop. Only a lucky deflection off a Raptors player allowed Indiana to get a second chance to tie the game.
Blame can be spread to the bench too. In keeping with his regular-season approach, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel used a lineup without George, Ellis, George Hill or Myles Turner for more than three minutes to start the quarter. George, who carried the offense all evening, obviously has to rest at some point. However, subbing him, Hill, Ellis and Turner out simultaneously and then riding the bench group for three and a half minutes was a clear mistake. Toronto began chipping away at the lead and gaining momentum.
“I chose to trust those [bench] guys,” Vogel said afterwards, via the Indianapolis Star. Vogel admitted to considering a different lineup to start the quarter, but said “those guys have been good for us. They had a tough stretch there.”
Toronto showed its flaws, too
The Raptors have overachieved all year. Their half-court sets bog down and they also struggle shooting from deep, yet they still had the league's fourth-best offensive rating this season. They lack an elite wing stopper and proper rim protection, yet still had a better than average defense this year. They won a franchise-record 56 games during the regular season by superbly maximizing their talent.
In the playoffs, though, it becomes increasingly difficult to hide flaws, and there are plenty for Dwane Casey's bunch. Game 5 featured yet another poor performance from All-Star starter Kyle Lowry (14 points on 3-of-11 shooting), a lack of ball movement (just 12 assists on 36 field goals) and an inability to contain an opposing team's star. Cory Joseph, who decided to double-team George on the last possession and leave Solomon Hill wide open, was just a tenth of a second away from being branded a goat. Though DeMar DeRozan finally got his game going, the rest of Toronto's weaknesses were on full display.
But the Raptors have one major strength that saved them: their depth
At the same time, the Raptors’ wouldn’t have erased the Pacers’ lead it not for the dynamic play of Joseph and the rest of the bench mob in the fourth quarter. In contrast to the Pacers, who rely so heavily on George and their other starters, the Raptors have many other players that can step up in tight spots.
In the fourth quarter of Game 5, those players were Joseph, Bismack Biyombo and second-round rookie Norman Powell. Biyombo terrorized the Pacers with his motor and on the offensive glass, finishing with 10 points and 16 boards. Powell made plays on both ends of the floor, including the pivotal steal and dunk that tied the game for the first time. Joseph compensated for Lowry's struggles by repeatedly knifing his way into the paint to create points for himself and his teammates.
The Raptors pushed the pace in the fourth quarter and forced the Pacers into poor decisions. They tilted their defense towards George, making Indiana look elsewhere. They got timely hoops from DeRozan, including a rare three-pointer late in the fourth quarter. After shooting terribly in the first four games of the series, DeRozan finished with 34 points, battled with George on defense and picked up the slack for the slumping Lowry.
When the game got tight, Toronto got key contributions from other players. Indiana, meanwhile, was powerless once it was clear George needed some help.
Ultimately, Tuesday night’s thriller put the true character of both teams on full display. We saw why the Pacers are talented enough to upset Toronto, but likely won’t pull it off. By contrast, we saw why the Raptors overachieved to earn the East’s No. 2 seed, but also why they appear too flawed to go toe-to-toe with tougher challenges down the road.
More importantly, we saw what it looks like when troublesome regular-season trends rear their ugly heads.
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