Pacers vs. Raptors: Game 7 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

That sound you heard Sunday night was a collective sigh of relief from the entire city of Toronto—rather, the entire country of Canada.

The Toronto Raptors clinched their first playoff series win since 2001 with an 89-84 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of their first-round clash. The Raptors didn't make it easy on their fans at the Air Canada Centre, as they watched a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter shrink to as few as three, but they came through with the necessary plays down the stretch to escape with a victory:

DeMar DeRozan did his best Kobe Bryant impression with a team-high 30 points on 32 shots, but his red-hot stretch in the third quarter also proved integral to the five-point difference. The Raptors also received 13 points from Norman Powell off the bench and a double-double (10 points and 15 rebounds) from Jonas Valanciunas.

Valanciunas helped the Raptors control the glass with a 49-38 rebounding advantage. 

As for Indiana, Paul George was brilliant with 26 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, but he also turned it over seven times. Still, he made some franchise history in the process, per ESPN Stats & Info:

The victorious Raptors jumped out to a quick 9-5 lead, but that was far from the Pacers' only problem early. Big man Ian Mahinmi picked up two fouls in the first four minutes, and Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star reacted accordingly: "Death, taxes and two early fouls for Mahinmi. … Count on 'em."

Fortunately for Indiana, it still had George to dazzle in transition:

Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun had a lofty comparison for the Pacers superstar, who gave his team a 21-20 lead with that 360 dunk:

Despite George's formidable efforts, the Raptors controlled the final minutes of the first quarter and took a 28-23 lead into the second. Toronto parlayed that momentum into a 42-36 lead with less than four minutes remaining until halftime, but it had other concerns.

"[Kyle] Lowry gets crushed on a screen, picks up foul and holds injured arm on floor," Wolstat noted early in the second quarter. 

While the point guard remained in the game, Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star realized he hadn't "so much as looked at taking a jumper."

Lowry had only five points in the first half, but Toronto built a 50-44 advantage heading into the locker room thanks to 15 points from DeRozan and 10 points from Powell. The team had some fun with Powell's start on its Twitter page:

The Raptors wasted little time building on their lead in the third quarter. Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll both connected from deep, and Lowry added a layup during a four-possession stretch as Toronto took a 58-46 lead less than four minutes into the half.

Nate Duncan of The Cauldron said the Pacers "can look back at their awful transition D to start this [quarter]...if they lose this one."

Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post pointed to the other side of the ball:

It looked like the game may have been over when the Raptors stretched the lead to 61-46, but the Pacers responded with a quick 7-0 run, which prompted this from Matt Moore of CBS Sports:

That's when DeRozan took the third quarter over to put his team ahead 78-64 entering the fourth. The swingman scored 13 in the third alone and had 28 through three.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports called it the "full DeRozan experience" after he began the game 5-of-9 shooting, made just one of his next 10 and then heated up in the third.

He had the Pacers defense going in circles, via the NBA:

The Raptors didn't score in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter, but Indiana didn't take advantage, scoring only three points of its own during the stretch.

"Pacers continue to struggle with half-court sets," Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports noted. "Too many guys standing."

The Pacers paid the price, and Powell and Cory Joseph both hit jumpers to extend the lead to 83-67. Bontemps reacted to the critical spurt:

Indiana trimmed it back to 85-77 with a Monta Ellis basket with nearly four minutes left in the game, and Bontemps observed that the Raptors had "done everything possible to give this one back in the fourth."

From there, the Pacers cut the deficit to 85-82 with an Ellis three-pointer, but Lowry responded with a clutch basket in the lane. The Toronto defense then forced a turnover by Ellis with less than two minutes left.

Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports reacted to Lowry's monumental play:

Even after that basket, George hit two free throws with 52 seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game, 87-84. The Pacers then got the defensive stop they needed when DeRozan missed a three-pointer, and DeAntae Prince of Sports Illustrated did not approve of Toronto's offensive strategy: 

"

I see a lot of Raptors players passing the ball to unsuspecting teammates and avoiding big moments. Kyle Lowry might be the only exception.

— DeAntae Prince (@DeAntae) May 2, 2016"

Even after the Raptors tried to give the game away, the Pacers missed their biggest chance when George couldn't connect on a lob to Mahinmi. DeRozan then hit two free throws to make it 89-84, although Andy Glockner of The Cauldron thought DeRozan "completely shoved Mahinmi in the back" on the preceding pass.

Samuel Chi of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "another NBA officiating debacle."

Controversial calls aside, George missed a desperation three-pointer on Indiana's last possession, and the Raptors held on for the win in a game they largely controlled from start to finish.

What's Next?

The season is now over for Indiana, and it will likely lament its missed chances down the stretch of Game 7 for the entire offseason. The silver lining for the Pacers is the fact that they have a superstar in George, but he needs more help moving forward if they are going to join the elite teams in the Eastern Conference in the coming seasons.

As for the Raptors, they advance to the second round of the playoffs and will face the Miami Heat. This is not the Heat team of old with LeBron James (and they haven't had Chris Bosh in the playoffs), but Dwyane Wade is still a playmaker with three rings on his resume. He also scored 23-plus points three times in Miami's first-round victory over the Charlotte Hornets and came through with multiple big shots.

The Raptors are fortunate they don't have to deal with James and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers until a potential Eastern Conference Finals showdown, but they can't afford to overlook a battle-tested Wade in Round 2.

Considering Sunday marked their first postseason series victory in 15 years, they probably won't overlook anyone.

Postgame Reaction

While Pacers fans are likely still disappointed with Sunday’s outcome, George did paint an enticing picture for the offseason, per Agness: "[George] says he is hopeful that they ([Ellis], [Hill] and him) 'can do a great job in recruiting…a big name to come here to help us out.'"

The Pacers shared some of George’s postgame press conference:

As for the Raptors, they finally got the chance to talk about a postseason series win. DeMarre Carroll discussed the team's mindset, per Lewenberg: "I hear so many people talking about the Toronto curse and all this, but I told plenty of fans and media, this is a different team."

DeRozan seemed more relieved than anything else, per Lewenberg: "We got the monkey off our back, more than anything. ... It feels good to get that off."

Powell was already looking ahead to the next series after his impressive performance, per Lewenberg: "Dwyane Wade's one of the guys that I looked up to, modeled my game after."

Powell may have modeled his game after Wade growing up, but his team is going to need to find a way to stop the Miami superstar if it plans on reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and continuing its championship quest.