Stephenson’s late flurry leads Pacers over Raptors, 107-104
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, Bojan Bogdonavic added 19 and the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 107-104 Friday night.
Lance Stephenson had 13 of his 18 points in the final five minutes and shot 7 for 9 from the field, including 4 for 4 from 3-point range. Stephenson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Indiana a 103-92 lead with 4:06 remaining.
Indiana won its fifth straight after a four-game losing streak early in the season.
Indiana outscored the Raptors 31-20 in the third quarter to take a one-point lead, and Stephenson took over from there. He connected on six of his final seven field goal attempts, including the back-to-back 3-pointers that gave Indiana its largest lead of the half.
Kyle Lowry scored 12 of his 24 points in the second quarter as Toronto outscored Indiana 35-21, giving the Raptors a 60-50 halftime lead.
Toronto had a chance to tie after Myles Turner missed the second of two free throw attempts with six seconds remaining, but Fred VanVleet’s 3-pointer at the buzzer clanked off the backboard.
Turner finished seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds, and VanVleet had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes off the bench.
Indiana opened the game shooting 9 for 13 from the field, including 5 for 8 from 3-point range, but a string of turnovers and poor transition defense allowed Toronto to close the quarter on an 11-2 run.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Forward CJ Miles did not travel with the team after his wife gave birth to a girl Thursday evening. … Toronto outrebounded Indiana 42-41 and shot nearly 50 percent from the field, but struggled from 3-point range, making just 9 of 30 attempts.
Pacers: Indiana entered the game leading the NBA in 3-point percentage, shooting 40.4 percent from behind the arc. … Domantis Sobonis added 13 points and six rebounds despite a poor shooting night. Sabonis shot just 2 for 10 from the field, but was 9 for 12 from the free throw line. … Indiana improved to 9-2 when making at least 10 3-pointers. The Pacers were 11 for 26 behind the arc.
UP NEXT
Raptors: Close out a three-game road trip at Atlanta on Saturday.
Pacers: Host Boston on Saturday.