RAPTORS 102, PACERS 99
TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points and the Toronto Raptors held on for a 102-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers and a 3-2 lead in their first-round series Tuesday night when Solomon Hill's three-pointer was ruled after the buzzer.
The Raptors overcame 39 points from Paul George and a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, getting 14 points from Kyle Lowry.
Bismack Biyombo had 10 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Raptors, who can clinch the first seven-game playoff series victory in franchise history by beating the Pacers in Indiana on Friday night.
George Hill had 15 points and Myles Turner 14 for the Pacers, who led by as many as 17 and never trailed through the first three quarters before coming unglued in the fourth.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 11 and rookie Norman Powell had 10 for Toronto.
The Pacers made 13 of 29 from three-point range but struggled from all over the floor in the fourth, making four of 15 shots and scoring just nine points in the period.
Trailing 90-77 to begin the fourth, the Raptors tied the game with a 15-2 run. Powell stole the ball from Monta Ellis and made a fast-break dunk to knot it at 92-all with 6:31 remaining, sending the sellout crowd of 19,800 into a frenzy.
Toronto's first six points of the fourth came with George on the bench. He checked back in with 8:36 left.
After Powell's basket, neither team scored again until DeRozan hit a tiebreaking three with 4:15 remaining. After a missed three by Ellis, Cory Joseph hit another three for Toronto, putting the Raptors up 98-92 with 3:26 left.
Solomon Hill's three with 15.9 seconds cut it to 100-99, but DeRozan answered with a pair of free throws.
Indiana had the ball under Toronto's basket with 2.7 seconds left. Ellis inbounded to George, who fed Solomon Hill, and Pacers players threw their arms up in celebration when his shot from the left side went through the net. But video replay confirmed that the shot came too late.
George scored 12 points in the first and the Pacers were 7 of 10 from three-point range to lead 35-20 after one.
With George on the bench, the Raptors closed the gap with a 13-1 run to begin the second, making it 36-33. George returned and hit a three at 8:05, snapping a streak of seven consecutive missed field goals by the Pacers. George scored seven of the next 10 Indiana points before Toronto called timeout. DeRozan scored 13 in the second while George had 10 as the Pacers led 61-52 at halftime.
DeRozan had missed all eight of his three-point attempts in the series before connecting in the second quarter.
George scored 15 points in the third, including an 8-for-8 performance at the free throw line, as the Pacers took a 90-77 lead into the fourth.
George picked up a technical foul after a minor scuffle with Lowry early in the third quarter. It was George's third technical foul in the past three games.
Patrick Patterson made his first start of the series for the Raptors, replacing Luis Scola.
HAWKS 110, CELTICS 83
ATLANTA — Kent Bazemore sparked a stunning turnaround with three consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter, and the Atlanta Hawks reclaimed the upper hand in their playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
The Hawks are up 3-2 in the series and are positioned to close it out Thursday in Boston. If Game 7 is needed, it would be Saturday in Atlanta.
Sports on 04/27/2016