Down by as much as 13 in the fourth quarter, the Toronto Raptors looked like they were on their way to a devastating Game 5 loss on their home floor.
Instead, led by a pair of unlikely contributors, the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed waged a furious rally to edge the Pacers 102-99 at the Air Canada Center. Indiana's Solomon Hill hit back-to-back 3-pointers late, including one at the buzzer that would have tied it, but his last-second three was waved off after an official review.
The Raptors went on a 23-2 run over a nine-minute stretch in the fourth, getting stellar production out of backup center Bismack Biyombo and rookie shooting guard Norman Powell. Biyombo tallied a 10-point, 16-rebound double-double, while Powell added 10 off the bench, including a pair of momentum-swinging buckets in the final period.
DeMar DeRozan led the way with 34 for the Raptors, who had to overcome a quiet game from Kyle Lowry. The All-Star point guard finished with just 14 points and five assists on 3-for-10 shooting.
Paul George had a huge game for the Pacers, finishing with 39 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, but Indiana simply did not have enough gas down the stretch, scoring just 12 points in the final period.
That would not end up being enough on Tuesday night, as the Raptors overcame a sluggish start to go up 3-2 in the series.
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