Pacers vs. Raptors: Game 2 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The Toronto Raptors had five players score in double figures, led by a team-high 23 points and 15 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas, and tied their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers with a 98-87 victory in Game 2 on Monday night at Air Canada Centre.  

Toronto snapped a seven-game playoff losing streak that had been a thorn in its side, getting the much-needed victory after it lost Game 1 on Saturday. Paul George scored a game-high 28 points for Indiana, but Monta Ellis was the only other Pacer to score in double figures.

The Raptors survived the night despite a combined 28 points from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and tweeted this after the hard-fought victory:

In Game 1 on Saturday, the Raptors relied heavily on Lowry and DeRozan offensively, only to get a combined 8-of-32 shooting performance between Toronto's two All-Stars.

Much of the same took place at the start of Game 2. Lowry and DeRozan combined to make two of their first 17 shots, but it was the big man Valanciunas making an impact at both ends and resembling an NBA legend early on, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun noted:

Valanciunas made six of his first seven shots to go along with seven rebounds, and the Raptors jumped out to a 27-16 first-quarter lead. The big man was coming off a 12-point, 19-rebound performance on Saturday, and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com thought he was having another solid performance:

Part of that was also due in large part to George picking up his second foul with 4:33 remaining in the first quarter. Even though it was early, Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star could see the writing on the wall:

Between Valanciunas' performance and George's foul trouble, the Raptors were in good shape early, per Jeff Blair of Sportsnet:

Toronto also got major contributions from its bench in the first half. Backup point guard Cory Joseph made his first three shots, and reserve wing Terrence Ross made back-to-back threes to give Toronto a 40-22 lead at the eight-minute mark in the second quarter.

But it didn't take long for the Pacers to get back in the game. In fact, it took 3:19 before they cut the lead to five points, responding with a 15-2 run—10 of those points coming from George—to make the score 42-37.

This has been the kind of basketball the Pacers have grown accustomed to, per Matt Moore of CBS Sports:

The Raptors were able to weather the storm in the second quarter.

Patrick Patterson was a huge part of Toronto's ability to maintain a lead heading into the fourth quarter, making all but one shot. He also had two threes after 36 minutes.

Patterson's ability to stretch the floor gives Toronto a frontcourt advantage, and Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star felt he should get more touches:

Perhaps the largest reason Toronto knotted this series at a game apiece was because how it contained Indiana at the three-point line. In Game 1, the Pacers made 11 threes out of 21 attempts. On Monday, the Raptors held Indiana to 4-of-20 from distance. As an added bonus, Toronto made 23-of-25 from the free-throw line. Lowry made all 10 of his free-throw attempts.

Toronto jumped out to a 15-5 start in the fourth quarter, stretching the lead to 89-71 and putting the game on ice. 

The Pacers did what they needed to do in Toronto, though, by winning Game 1 and stealing home-court advantage. They head back to Indiana knowing they can beat the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. 

Toronto, meanwhile, won a must-win game and leaves Canada needing to keep this production going on Thursday in Game 3. The good thing for the Raptors is they don't need Lowry and DeRozan to win a game for them. Toronto's depth is capable of making a difference in this series.

Postgame Reaction

DeRozan has struggled heavily in this series so far, but with the Raptors playing as well as they did Monday night, it was his call to leave the second unit in, per Wolstat.

“I don’t know if it’s tightness or whatever, but ... he’ll come around,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said, per Arthur. “Last couple of playoff series it took him a couple of games to get going, and in the fourth I just liked the energy and defensive toughness that Norm was bringing at his position.”

When asked about his teammate's struggles, Lowry said it's all about getting the win, via NBA TV:

Even with the Toronto stars' struggles, the Pacers know they have to continue putting up effort at the defensive end while finding a way to counter Valanciunas.

"It’s not just [Valanciunas],” Pacers forward Lavoy Allen said, per Buckner. "We’re trying to control Kyle and DeMar off the ball screens, and he’s getting behind us. We’re trying to stop Kyle and DeMar from going downhill, and sometimes that leaves one [help] guy back there to stop [Valanciunas], and that’s tough.”