Pacers Blow Double-Digit Lead For First Time All Season
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INDIANAPOLIS – For a second straight night, the Indiana Pacers’ inability to close was sealed by a very questionable whistle to end the game.
The Pacers (20-12) led for around 45 minutes on Wednesday night in Toronto (24-9), but poor execution late once again cost Nate McMillan’s team.
Indiana’s 99-96 loss to the Raptors came on a night when the Pacers blew their first double-digit lead of the season.
Just 11 fourth-quarter points for the Pacers doomed their hopes at finishing off a big bounce back victory on Wednesday.
One night after missed free throws and a general lack of execution cost the Pacers against the undermanned Cavaliers, issues late showed up again on the road.
For three quarters on Wednesday, the Pacers were a much better offensive team than the previous night versus the Cavs.
But a season-high 23 total turnovers for the game was especially the storyline in Wednesday’s final quarter (7 turnovers), as the Pacers had way too many possessions dip late into the shot clock with little signs of life.
“Too many turnovers,” McMillan said after Wednesday’s loss. “I don’t know how many we had in the fourth quarter, but you can’t have 23 turnovers. Our guards had 11 turnovers. Their pressure bothered us, and just poor execution down the stretch. I thought we had some guys at times that were open and we didn’t get (them) the ball – but just too many turnovers.”
Indiana’s 10-point lead with less than 9 minutes to go on Wednesday slowly deteriorated.
The Raptors took just their second lead of the night with 26.4 seconds to play off a Fred VanVleet three pointer. The three came after an indefensible 8-second turnover by Victor Oladipo.
On the following possession after the Oladipo turnover, the Pacers gave up a long rebound, that hit the floor, and eventually led to the VanVleet three, giving the Raptors their first lead since the game’s opening minutes.
“That’s what winning is all about,” McMillan said of giving up the late offensive rebound. “That’s the difference between winning and losing games. Going down the stretch, you have to execute, you have to get stops and when you force misses, you have to rebound the basketball. Offensively, you have a lead you have to continue to be aggressive and execute, and score. We haven’t done those things the last couple of games.”
After another Indiana turnover was followed by two Raptors free throws, Indiana had one final shot at overtime.
Bojan Bogdanovic appeared to be fouled by OG Anunoby on a three-point attempt, but no whistle was blown, and the Pacers lost both games on a back-to-back for the first time this season.
Oladipo led Indiana with 20 points (9-of-19 shooting), with Bogdanovic adding 18 (7-of-13 shooting).
The Raptors, who were playing without starters Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, were led by Kahwi Leonard’s 28 points (11-of-23 shooting).
Three Pacers’ Takeaways:
–Can’t Close Again: It was a disastrous fourth quarter for the Pacers offensively. They scored 11 points in Wednesday’s final period, seeing their seemingly double-digit lead throughout the whole night slowly evaporate. Way too many possessions didn’t initiate serious movement until late in the shot clock. ‘Hero ball’ was needed way too much in the final period against the long and rangy Raptors. Victor Oladipo had an inexcusable 8-seconds call with the Pacers leading by 2, and less than a minute to play. Then a long offensive rebound by Toronto led to a Fred VanVleet three pointer, which gave the Raptors their first lead since the 10-minute mark of the opening quarter. Oladipo and the Pacers were great in closing out games earlier this season. They blew both of these consecutive losses to the Cavs and Raptors late in the 4th though. In each of the Pacers’ three December losses, an improved Indiana rebounding team has not finished by closing out the possession with a key rebound.
–Turnovers Flare Up Again: While the offense was much better through the first three quarters on Wednesday night, the final turnover number did not please Nate McMillan. Indiana finished the evening with 23 total turnovers. Facing a Toronto team down keys players in Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, the Pacers were way too careless with the ball, leading to some stress-free transition points for the Raptors. The turnovers were a huge issue in the 4th quarter. The length of the Raptors clearly bothered the Pacers on Wednesday night, in a matchup that we could very well see again when the postseason arrives.
–Letting It Snowball: For so much of Wednesday night, it looked like the Pacers would not let Tuesday’s bad loss carry over into Wednesday. But for the first time all season, the Pacers saw a double-digit lead turn into a loss. To avoid their first three-game losing streak in nearly a year, Indiana will have to win in Brooklyn on Friday night, with the Nets having won 7 straight games. The ability to keep losing streaks to a minimum has been a strength for the Pacers over the last year. It needs to continue as the top of the Eastern Conference is starting to separate a bit.
Pacers Upcoming Schedule
-at Nets (Friday, 12/21)
-Wizards (Sunday, 12/23)
-at Hawks (Wednesday, 12/26)
-Pistons (Friday, 12/28)
-Hawks (Monday, 12/31)
