Raptors vs. Pacers: Game 3 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The Toronto Raptors finished the regular season with an Eastern Conference-best 24 wins on the road, so it's no surprise the Atlantic Division champions arrived at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday night and claimed a 2-1 series lead against the Indiana Pacers with a dominant 101-85 win. 

According to Basketball-Reference.com, the 16-point margin of victory was the second-largest in Raptors postseason franchise history away from home.    

DeMar DeRozan bounced back from a couple of poor performances at home with 21 points on 7-of-19 shooting, while Kyle Lowry offered symmetrical balance by totaling 21 points and eight assists. The Raptors finished a team-best plus-18 with Lowry on the floor. 

The Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed also continued to bludgeon Indiana on the offensive glass, 15-9, after entering Game 3 with a 32-15 edge in that department through the series' first two showdowns. 

Paul George attempted to shoulder the load, and he did a decent job of accomplishing that goal early on. But he had to chuck his way to 25 points on 6-of-19 shooting (1-of-8 from three) with DeMarre Carroll draped all over him, as ESPN.com's Mike Mazzeo observed:   

And even though the Pacers shot 38.2 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three as a team, they had opportunities to make a second-half push. 

Toronto missed a whopping 20 shots in the third quarter and was outscored 23-18 in the frame, but the Pacers couldn't muster consistency down the stretch to cut into the double-digit deficit facilitated by a sterling first half from DeRozan and the Raptors. 

DeRozan, who shot a combined 10-of-37 from the floor in Games 1 and 2, knocked down each of his first three shots and went on to close out the game's opening frame with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting as he morphed back into one of the league's most impressive scorers, per the Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner: 

The Raptors also received early injections of energy from Carroll (17 points) and Lowry, who helped set the tone for a prosperous first half with a tremendous hustle play to generate an extra possession: 

The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat noted the Raptors established an edge when it came to scrambling for loose balls over the game's first 24 minutes: 

That development was an overwhelmingly positive one for the Raptors too because they showed a lack of urgency in similar situations at home during Games 1 and 2. According to NBA.com's hustle-tracking stats, the Raptors recovered an average of 5.5 loose balls at Air Canada Centre to kick off the series, which paled in comparison to Indiana's mark of seven loose balls recovered during those contests. 

As frustration mounted for the Pacers during a sloppy, faux pas-filled first half, the Raptors seized control and established a 17-point halftime lead—the team's largest ever in a road playoff game, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Indiana's woes were the byproduct of more than a lack of hustle, though. 

While George did the heavy lifting on offense, his supporting cast fell flat. To wit: George scored 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the first half, and all other members of the starting five combined to make four shots and score 11 points during that span. 

That lack of production put Indiana in an insurmountable hole, and the Pacers didn't have enough firepower to recover. 

Indiana's generally stingy defense was also incapable of disturbing Toronto's offensive rhythm, and the Raptors posted a 26-10 advantage in points off turnovers to further compound the Pacers' problems. 

Now, following a thorough beatdown at the hands of the East's No. 2 seed, the Pacers are facing a must-win Game 4 on Saturday. 

Although Indiana has proved capable of winning on Toronto's home floor, facing a 3-1 deficit would effectively be a death sentence for the Pacers' season. According to WhoWins.com, teams that have taken 3-1 series leads in the best-of-seven format are 220-9 all-time, good for a winning percentage of 96.1. 

And with an offense that's topped 90 points just once in three games, the Pacers will need to score in ways they haven't all season long to have any hope of pulling off the upset. 

Postgame Reaction

Speaking to reporters following the loss, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel kept things simple, per NBA TV on Twitter: 

Vogel also hinted at some potential lineup changes for Game 4, according to Fox Sports Indiana on Twitter: 

On the other side of the equation, Lowry and DeRozan took time to put Carroll's contributions in perspective, per NBA TV on Twitter:  

"I tried not to let him [George] get some feel-good shots," Carroll said, per NBA.com's John Schuhmann. "Once he gets a feel-good shot ... he's a beast."

"Hopefully, as a group, we respond pissed off," George said, according to CBS Sports' James Herbert.