RJ Barrett stars as the Raptors beat Pascal Siakam in his return

Two of the worst defenses in the NBA, a whole bunch of injuries, and a Monday night in Toronto. The Pacers & the Raptors, more than most teams, aimed to be two ships passing in the night. An opportunity for big scoring performances in what was a very gettable game.

The first quarter was true to form with a combined 61 points scored, and a 4-point lead for the Raptors. Their opening set was a beauty from Darko Rajakovic — sorry for the incoming word salad — featuring a double stagger ball screen for Davion Mitchell, with Gradey Dick operating as one of the initial screeners, who then set a veer screen for RJ Barrett, before coming out of an exit screen in the corner. That sounds like a lot, right? Well, the Pacers thought so, because they paid more attention to Dick than they did Barrett who came up off a double-pin, and ran a pick n’ roll with Jakob Poeltl, finding him for a dunk. Fine penmanship on the white board from Rajakovic, and great execution form the Raptors.

Indiana had trouble sticking with shooters — maybe because they didn’t rate many of the Raptors as shooters — as they gave up 6 triples to the Raptors in the opening frame. In fact, before the game, I asked Rick Carlisle about the Pacers zone look with Tyrese Haliburton and he said “I’m not going to get into those types of questions. I appreciate that you’ve noticed those kinds of things, but I just won’t.” Gradey Dick’s first three came against that zone after Ochai Agbaji cut against a less-than-attentive Siakam, collapsed the corner, and found Dick for a triple. Drive and kick sequences that ended with Jamison Battle facing no contest and open space went down a couple times as well; and maybe most importantly, Barrett’s 3-point shot looked back in form.

For Indiana’s part, they got back into the swing of things very rapidly in the second quarter by pushing the ball, and pushing it hard. The Raptors, as we all know, pursue the offensive glass with vigor. That also means they have to send bodies and put themselves in a weaker position to guard in transition, and the Pacers stormed back for the lead at 41-40. However, Dick and Poeltl pieced together a great run of play as they orchestrated a 9-0 run. Dick took a drive wide, pumped, and found Poeltl diving in for a bucket. Then Agbaji found a relocating Dick for a corner triple. Then! Poeltl blew up a play pursuing an offensive rebound and got an and-one. THEN! Dick took a handoff coming up court out of the corner and immediately let it fly for another triple! Basketball!

Even better than all of that? We’ve been waiting for the ultra-impact spot minutes from Garrett Temple and we got them! He put in a 3-minute shift where he was +15, hit a triple, had a couple good digs on defense, sprung loose in transition and assisted two separate buckets. He even dove on the floor to get a ball back and pantomimed holding his back in pain. Quality veteran-ing. In all the hubbub of that throwback performance, the Raptors took a 12-point lead into halftime.

The defensive woes remained for the Indiana to start the second half, as they still had a lot of trouble guarding fundamental actions like the pick n’ roll. Poeltl was catching often, going up nearly as often, and scoring at a really high clip – 24 points & 12 rebounds halfway through the third quarter for the big man. Mitchell hit a pull-up three, Barrett continued to churn offense – it was really bad for the Pacers as they were staring down a 22-point deficit. Similar to the run in the second quarter though, the Pacers pushed hard and often and managed to squeeze the deficit down to 14 points by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.

That pace stuck, and helped the Pace-rs carve even further into the lead. By the time we reached the midway point of the 4th quarter it had evaporated to just 7 points. Not only were the Raptors taking tough shots and missing them, but they were also turning the ball over to jumpstart the Pacers. Guys like Obi Toppin and Bennedict Mathurin, who had a bit of trouble getting uncorked in the halfcourt, they ran out for bucket after bucket to start the 4th. Luckily, the Raptors had a bit of a counter punch in Barrett – who got to the line off a great cut, and one play later scored on a great euro step after the Raptors ran their pet ‘Spain Leak’ play with Dick as the back screener. Back up 12.

Getting the ball into Barrett’s capable hands was the solution all night. Every time the Raptors needed to make something happen on offense, to shake and move, the ball found Barrett, and he found the bucket. This game was never going to be won on the defensive end, not between these two teams, and Barrett carried the Raptors forward the whole game. Crab dribbles into the middle of the lane, push shots, turnaround jumpers, big, reaching last steps that got him to the glass where he would kiss the ball softly off of it. Step back jumpers. Scoring the ball and creating for others.

Ultimately, Barrett would guide the Raptors to the win with 39 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. A really great performance, and not done alone, as Poeltl provided 30 & 15 in lockstep with Barrett. The Pacers got 25-10-5 out of Siakam, and 28 & 5 out of Mathurin, but similar to much of the season, they couldn’t stomach another 28% shooting performance from their star guard, Tyrese Haliburton. With both teams missing players, the Raptors reached back and found star performances in their ranks. Great game.

Have a blessed day.