Pacers have a cold trip to Canada

The Pacers lost to the host Toronto Raptors in a New Year's Day matchup Wednesday night 95-82. The Pacers are now 25-6 while the Raptors are 15-15.
The Big Plays
The game was tied at 74-74 early in the fourth quarter when the Raptors went on a 10-1 run to take control of the game for good. They were led by DeMar DeRozan who continued his strong recent play with 26 points.
The Ups
1) One of the few good things in this game was the defense of Pacers point guard George Hill against the Raptors Kyle Lowry. Coming into the game the Lowry had scored 20 or more points in four of the Raptors last six games. He was held to 13 in this one, but do give Lowry some credit with 14 assists as he didn't force up a bunch of bad shots.

Danny Granger's play off the bench was one of the
few bright spots for the Pacers Wednesday night.

2) The other bright spot here for the Pacers was for the second straight game Danny Granger came off the bench and gave the team good minutes, playing the entire second quarter and finished with 11 points in 22 minutes. Granger is not all the way back by any means, but you can see the confidence growing almost from game-to-game now. So on a night when there were not a lot of good things happening for the Pacers, Granger's play was one of them.
3) For the second straight game Pacers center Roy Hibbert was a focus on the offense and he did deliver with 16 points. But for one of the few times this season, he was in foul trouble much of the game and the Pacers couldn't take advantage enough simply because he wasn't in the game.
The Downs
1) For much of the season and during what was a five-game winning streak before Wednesday, Paul George and Lance Stephenson led the way. But on this night, they combined to go just 9 for 23 from the field, which isn't the worst night ever, but they did also combine for nine turnovers, including six by George. While the MVP talk for George has quieted of late, if he wants to put himself back in that argument he needs to step up in games like these and take control. That doesn't necessarily mean having to score, but it does mean creating easy baskets for others. It's not the end of the world for either one of these guys. They will bounce back, but let's just hope this sometimes dynamic duo can learn and grow from nights like these.
2) The offense in general, and turnovers in particular, were a problem all night. In all, the Pacers had 22 turnovers and it seemed as if they were in a hurry in offense all night. Give some of the credit to Toronto for creating that kind of pace as they had 17 fastbreak points in the game. The Raptors look like a different team since they traded Rudy Gay to the Kings and came out ready to play from the start. But when the Pacers built their lead to eight points midway through the third, they didn't lose heart and kept playing hard, something that opponents have not done when the Pacers have put on one of their patented third quarter surges. The Raptors won the third quarter 26-19, one of the few times the Pacers have been outscored in the third this season.
Afterthoughts
The Raptors came into this game on a bit of roll, having won five of six and feeling good about themselves and it was easy to see why Wednesday night. The Pacers picked up their defense in the second quarter and tried to build their lead to double digits in the third, but couldn't add to it and the Raptors knew they still had a chance and took advantage of it. It was just one of those nights where the Pacers couldn't consistently control the tempo of the game and it got away from them in the fourth quarter. Let's don't crazy here over one loss. There are nights like this in a long season and look for the Pacers to come out strong when they play again Saturday.
Next Up
The Pacers get a couple of days off before they play in the second part of Indy's big Saturday. The Colts play first in a 4:35 p.m. playoff game and then the Pacers tip off against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. The Pelicans had a 14-15 mark going into Wednesday night's game against Minnesota. They are led by forward Ryan Anderson at just under 20 points per game, including over three 3-pointers per game. Also, second-year big man Anthony Davis is averaging 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and three blocks. The Pelicans also have guard Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday each at just over 15 points a game, sixth man Tyreke Evans at over 13 points a game and center Jason Smith at 10 points per game. The Pacers won the first meeting this season in New Orleans in the second game of the season 95-90. The Pacers also get a bit of break here in that the Pelicans will be on the second night of back-to-back Saturday as they also play Boston Friday night.