TORONTO,Canada (AFP) — The Toronto Raptors clawed back a 13-point deficit to defeat the Indiana Pacers 102-99 on Tuesday and take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.
Toronto had found themselves staring down the barrel of a home defeat after Indiana raced into a 90-77 lead in the third quarter.
But a 15-2 Raptors points blitz in the opening 5 mins 29 sec of the fourth quarter hauled the home side back into the contest with rookie Norman Powell scoring a monster dunk to tie it 92-92.
DeMar DeRozan then stepped up to drain a three-pointer to give the Raptors their first lead as Toronto held on for a pulsating win.
DeRozan was the standout for Toronto, topscoring with 34 points while Kyle Lowry weighed in with 14 points, four rebounds and five assists. Jonas Valanciunas added 11 points.
Pacers star Paul George had a game-high 39 points including eight rebounds and eight assists while George Hill added 15 points and Myles Turner had 14.
The Pacers had appeared to be firmly in control after opening up a 61-52 halftime lead.
Indiana had looked the more polished side throughout the opening half, with George scoring 22 of his points in the first two quarters.
Toronto had lagged 35-20 after the first quarter following Indiana’s freescoring start. George led the Pacers scoring with 12 points and four assists in the quarter while Hill added nine points.
The series now moves to Indianapolis on Friday for game six.
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