Hand down, man down, as the saying goes.
In Game 1 of the first-round series, the Indiana Pacers made sure they weren’t allowing easy baskets for the Toronto Raptors. On Saturday, they kept the Raptors to a 40.5 eFG% — nearly 10% below the league average — and outscored them in all but the first quarter of the game thanks to their relentless defense. The end result was a 100-90 victory for Indiana. It also helps when Paul George scores 33 points, too.
Part of how they did that was keeping a hand in the Toronto shooters’ faces, making it just a little bit harder for them to make their shots.