• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Pacers-Raptors Preview

Apr 17, 2016 - 5:53 PM After Paul George provided the latest postseason pain, the Toronto Raptors are searching for answers as they look to stop their recent cycle of playoff failures.

Dwane Casey believes his outstanding backcourt will regroup Monday night when the Raptors try to avoid an eighth consecutive postseason defeat and even their first-round series with the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 at Air Canada Centre.

George regrouped from a 2-for-9 shooting performance in the first half Saturday by hitting 10 of 13 attempts in the final two quarters on the way to 33 points as Indiana stole homecourt advantage with a 100-90 win. He hit four 3-pointers to go with six assists, four steals and two blocks in an effort coach Frank Vogel called "awesome."

It was a triumphant return to the playoffs for George, who missed all but six games last season after breaking his right leg while playing with Team USA.

"Paul's shot-making at the end of the game was spectacular," Vogel told the team's official website. "It's been a long road for him, in terms of actually getting back on the court, but before his injury, we were in the conference finals."

Several Raptors had no luck containing George. He hit all four shots, including two 3-pointers, when guarded closely by top defender DeMarre Carroll and was 3 for 6 with seven points when DeMar DeRozan was on him. Carroll, however, was limited to 19 minutes off the bench and playing only his fourth game since having right knee surgery Jan. 6.

George also shined defensively, limiting leading scorer DeRozan to 1-of-7 shooting on 36 touches when the All-Star was directly guarding him. The Pacers improved to 26-1 this season when holding opponents to 94 points or fewer.

DeRozan, who averaged 23.5 points during the regular season, finished with 14 on 5-of-19 shooting. Fellow All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, who scored 21.2 per game, was 3 of 13 for 11 points and committed six of the team's 20 turnovers.

"I don't think they're going to shoot like that again," said Casey, whose club hit just 38 percent and missed 15 of 19 from long range. "As a team, I thought we were tight offensively and that frustration carried over to the defensive end. It wasn't us. I hadn't seen us play that tentative on the offensive end all year. That'll change."

The Raptors don't have recent history on their side. After winning the Atlantic Division in 2013-14, they dropped the last two of a seven-game first-round series against Brooklyn before Washington swept them in an opening series last season.

Toronto is coming off a club-record 56 wins and third consecutive Atlantic crown but is still trying to end the longest playoff skid in team history. Its only postseason triumph came in a five-game series win over New York in 2001.

"This is not last year," Lowry insisted. "We're very positive, we're very confident."

Cory Joseph was a bright spot off the bench, finishing with 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Jonas Valanciunas fouled out with a team playoff-record 19 rebounds and the Raptors ended up with a 52-38 advantage on the glass.

The Pacers still have room to improve defensively in Game 2 after allowing a Toronto team that shot a franchise-record 1,702 free throws during the regular season to get to the line 38 times. They were bailed out when the Raptors only made 26.

Indiana will also look to continue its solid 3-point shooting after it had gone just 16 for 55 (29.1 percent) in the last two regular-season matchups. Monta Ellis made three of his four attempts in the opener to help the Pacers go 11 for 21.

"We're hoping that we've settled on something that can be successful for us in the playoffs," Vogel said. "We're off to a good start but obviously a lot of work to do still."

The Raptors weren't very good defending the perimeter during the regular season, ranking 29th in opponent 3-point percentage at 37.3.