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Pacers confident heading into Game 5

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — We’re all tied up at two wins a piece in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, as the Pacers begin to prepare for Game 5. The blue and gold head up north to Toronto this week, with hopes of taking a one-game lead in the series.

“It can help your confidence a little bit but, you know, Game 2 is a reminder of how good they are at home, you know? So we’re going to have to go up there and play through a lot of stuff and play as well as we did in game four,” Pacers’ coach Frank Vogel said.

The good news? The team already knows how to win on the Raptors home court.

“We know it’s one-one on their court, and we feel confident going there, feel confident that we can play the same way that we played last night on their floor, you know?” Paul George explained. “With us it’s just how we approach it and how we approach it early. We take them out early, the game becomes a little easier for us.”

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozen, a major concern for the Pacers on defense, combined for 42 points in game three. But the blue and gold held those two to 20 points on 8 for 27 shooting.

“It’s back to the court of the home team,” George Hill said. “We can’t take credit for what we’re doing. Our bigs are doing a great job, our wings are doing a great job being in gaps, so it’s a team effort. “

“You know, we’ve got to continue to fine tune what we’re doing with those guys, with the plan,” Vogel added. “George and Paul are doing a good job on them, you know, but it’s got to be a team effort. I mean they’re still getting some looks we’re not comfortable with but we’ve got to continue to do a better job with.”

One interesting fact about this series is that each win has been decided by at least 10 points or more. The Raptors have only lost 9 games at home this season, so if the Pacers want to take a one-game lead in the series, they’re going to have to click on all cylinders come Wednesday night.