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Pacers hit 13 threes to down Raptors

Dec 7, 2010 - 4:03 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Danny Granger paced a balanced attack with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists, as Indiana downed Toronto, 124-100, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Brandon Rush scored a game-best 26 points off the bench, including six of Indiana's 13 three-pointers. Darren Collison donated 17 points, Roy Hibbert 13 points, six rebounds and six assists and Josh McRoberts 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Pacers, who snapped a two-game skid.

"I thought we played a pretty share basketball game," said Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien. "We were very focused on our tempo and our plan. That's a very positive victory against a team right behind us in the standings."

Jose Calderon scored 21 points, Amir Johnson added 15 points and nine rebounds and Andrea Bargnani joined two others in the scoring ledger with 12 points for the Raptors, who have lost two straight after a modest two-game winning streak.

"The threes killed us," said Toronto head coach Jay Triano. "All of our cover was to take away the three-point shot. Our guys got caught in screens. You can't let this team shoot threes and we didn't do it."

The Pacers wasted little time taking control of the contest. Rush's trey off a solid outlet pass from McRoberts triggered a 7-0 scoring stretch for an 18-10 edge, and eight more in succession finished off by James Posey's layup off a turnover opened a 16-point edge.

Indiana held a 31-18 advantage after one period and blitzed the visitors out of the gates in the second stanza. The Pacers made their first five shots, including four three-pointers, to amass 14 points in the first two-plus minutes. The 14-2 onslaught capped by Posey's second trey of the stretch opened a 45-21 lead with just under nine minutes remaining in the half.

Rush drained two more triples for the Pacers and Collison's traditional three- point play extended the edge to 58-31 during the middle stages of the period. Indiana kept the Raptors at bay for the remainder of the half, taking a 68-44 lead into the locker room.

Toronto used a 10-0 burst midway through the third period to close a 26-point hole to 78-62 on Ed Davis' jumper with just over four minutes to play.

It was 89-67 at the end of three, and the Raptors got within 16 points at 93-77 on Bargnani's three-point play not even two minutes into the final period.

But the Pacers reeled off the next seven points and never looked back the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Pacers have won three of four and four of the last six meetings between the two teams...Toronto fell to 2-8 on the road this season...Indiana shot 60.9 percent from the floor in the opening half...Mike Dunleavy and Posey scored 11 points apiece in the victory...Leandro Barbosa and Linas Kleiza totaled 12 points apiece in defeat...Davis scored six points with seven rebounds for the visitors...Toronto made 42 percent of its shots, while the Pacers connected on 55.3 of their attempts and made 13-of-26 three-pointers. Toronto never led, while Indiana's biggest lead reached 28 points.