(Sports Network) - Coming off their first loss of the month, the Indiana
Pacers hope to end a three-game homestand on a more positive note when they
welcome the Toronto Raptors to Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Pacers had won four in a row until dropping an 86-72 decision versus the
Boston Celtics on Saturday. Indiana shot just 35 percent and its point total
matched the season-low, as Danny Granger led the way with 20 points and David
West added 16 in a losing cause.
"They played terrific defense, had good ball movement and shots that dropped.
I couldn't look over my shoulder or do any of the things that I normally do,"
said the Pacers' Paul George, who finished with just two points.
Indiana, which was coming off a big win versus Western Conference power
Oklahoma City, owns an 18-8 record at home and is seeded third in the Eastern
Conference -- one-half game ahead of Atlanta and a game in front of Orlando.
After hosting the Raptors, the Pacers will head to Cleveland for the opener of
a home-and-home series at Quicken Loans Arena.
Toronto has lost two in a row since winning three straight and suffered a
91-75 setback at the Thunder the last time out on Sunday.
Jose Calderon paced the Raptors with 19 points and six assists, while DeMar
DeRozan scored 16 points and Aaron Gray grabbed 10 boards.
"They're a great team. We could play them 10 out of 10 times and the results
probably wouldn't be different," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of OKC.
Raptors top scorer Andrea Bargnani posted seven points before leaving the game
with a calf injury. He is questionable for Monday and missed several games
this season because of calf issues.
Toronto has lost eight of its last 13 games and is only 9-19 away from Air
Canada Centre this season. It will head home after tonight's game to take on
Philadelphia and Boston.
The Raptors will try to avoid being swept in the season series to Indiana and
have lost the first two meetings between the clubs -- both up north. Indiana
has won six of the past eight encounters with Toronto, losers of six straight
as the visitor in this series.
Toronto's last win at Indy was a 102-98 victory on Feb. 25, 2008.
The Sports Network