 | Indiana | 105 | Final Box Score | 121 | Toronto |  |
 B+ | P. Siakam26 MIN, 12 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 5 +/- Siakam has been breaking his career scoring outputs every other game, but in this one he filled up the box score instead. Siakam must’ve thought he was Tyga the way he was giving everyone a taste. | |
 A- | D. Green19 MIN, 15 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-9 FG, 5-8 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- Danny started the game iffy, but then started raining threes with his eyes closed. Changed the game at multiple points. | |
 B+ | S. Ibaka23 MIN, 18 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 7-9 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 5 TO, 3 +/- Ibaka led the team in points for the majority of the game, but had quite a few boneheaded turnovers. Some even led to easy Pacers’ baskets. For the most part though, Serge played well, shot well and had a monster block that started a run in the 3rd quarter. | |
 A- | K. Lowry32 MIN, 12 PTS, 3 REB, 8 AST, 3 STL, 4-10 FG, 2-6 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 4 TO, 6 +/- Back inju-what? Lowry returned from a long layoff after being diagnosed with lower back soreness. At Lowry’s big age, a lower back injury (even a minor one) is nothing to play with. Toronto took all precautions necessary, but other than his clearly-larger-than-normal waistline, you couldn’t tell his back was ailing tonight. Lowry played great. | |
 A | F. VanVleet35 MIN, 12 PTS, 2 REB, 8 AST, 0 STL, 3-10 FG, 1-6 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 9 +/- FVV played with tons of discipline tonight, something he pointed to following the recent loss in San Antonio. He was extremely aware on both ends, and to be frank — Toronto still needed him to play a large role as Lowry transitions back. He did just that. | |
 A+ | N. Powell32 MIN, 23 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 10-12 FG, 3-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 15 +/- Everyone knows the Bench Mob hasn’t truly been the mob we were expecting this season. Let’s face it, they’ve taken a step back in consistency — only showing flashes of brilliance here and there. Tonight, Powell and co. lead the mob to an incredible performance. We need more of this. | |
 B+ | D. Wright25 MIN, 10 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 12 +/- Delon played outstanding early. He was super engaged offensively and didn’t seem to want to give any of the Pacers’ guards room to breathe. I wish he continued attacking the basket, but instead he opted for a playmaking role as the game winded down. | |
 B- | O. Anunoby24 MIN, 5 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 14 +/- For a game that saw just about every Raptor show out, I was a bit sad for OG. Obviously, he didn’t score as much, but guys like Powell and Green overshadowed a so-so game from Ogugua. He had a crazy plus/minus, which means he was doing something right. | |
 A | G. Monroe21 MIN, 11 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-11 FG, 0-0 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 10 +/- Moose entered the game midway through the 2nd frame and had an instant impact. Seven points in his first seven minutes, but it was more ‘how’ he was scoring. He had three free throw attempts, and wasn’t allowing much inside for Indiana. Great bounce back after barely seeing the floor vs. Milwaukee. | |
 Inc | C. Boucher2 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Came in with a minute, forty-five remaining. Hit a shot as soon as he walked in, but still not enough for a grade. I’m sure everyone was hoping he’d have featured earlier. | |
 Inc | L. Brown1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- See Boucher (minus the made a shot as soon as he walked in part). | |
 Inc | K. Leonard0 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Don’t panic. If you weren’t paying attention to the early pre-game notes, this was just a maintenance day for Leonard. It seems Nurse actually planned for him to play tonight until he observed how hard Kawhi went in his 34 minutes versus the Bucks. I’m personally fine with it. The back-to-backs will come. | |
 A+ | Nick Nurse Nurse spoke briefly in the pre-game about his team being pissed off (more about that below) and converting that into a good performance tonight. Indiana is one of the better teams in the association, and Toronto didn’t give them a break all night long. It also helped that Nurse’s sets worked to perfection. | |
Things We Saw
- No Long Talk. Lowry returned tonight and quickly made us remember:1. How damn good a basketball player he is, and
2. How important he is to this team’s success on a nightly basisWelcome back, Kyle.
- Free Smoke. The first half was a complete offensive explosion from Toronto as they scored 70 on 58% shooting from the field. What was even more encouraging was how the offensive load was spread like butter through all the players (12, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 3). Before the fourth quarter even began, Toronto had seven players in double digits. Tons of assists in this one, too. An offensive masterpiece.
- I’m Upset. An interesting segment in the first half showed a pre-game Nick Nurse interview where he revealed the Raptors were ‘pissed off’ with how they played in San Antonio and took that energy directly into Milwaukee, ultimately picking up a massive win sans Lowry & Valanciunas. Nurse said that victory didn’t fully change the mood within the squad, and he wanted to bring that same energy back home and “take care of business”.
- Mob Ties. Toronto’s bench played out of their damn minds today. As inconsistent as the unit has been this season — showing flashes of brilliance followed by ugly performances — it was good to see them get back to their usual self. Shoutout Moose, who barely played early in the season, waited his turn and has played well in the minutes given to him since JV went down.
