Scottie Barnes scored a career-high 35 points, along with nine assists and six rebounds, as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Indiana Pacers 122-111 on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup game.
Toronto led by as much as 24 points midway through the third quarter, but Indiana cut the lead to just two points with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors finished group play in the NBA Cup with a 1-3 record, while Indiana ended with a 0-4 record.
RJ Barrett contributed 29 points and nine rebounds for Toronto, who won their second straight game and their fourth consecutive home game. Ochai Agbaji scored 13 points, and Jakob Poeltl added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 30 points. The Pacers have now lost three games in a row, including their second straight home loss. Bennedict Mathurin added 17 points, Myles Turner had 16 points, Pascal Siakam, a former Raptor, scored 13 points, Obi Toppin had 15 points and nine rebounds, and T.J. McConnell contributed 14 points.
Toronto led 31-23 after the first quarter and started the second quarter with a 10-0 run. The lead grew to 20 points with Poeltl’s 8-foot jumper with 4:40 left in the second quarter, and reached 22 when Barrett made a 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining. The Raptors led 65-48 at halftime.
In the first half, Toronto shot 55.6 percent (25-for-45) from the field, while Indiana made 41.7 percent of their shots (15-for-36).
Barnes made a 21-foot jump shot with 8:34 left in the third quarter to give Toronto a 24-point lead.
Indiana started to close the gap, with Haliburton hitting two 3-pointers and Mathurin making a steal and dunk, bringing the score to 93-84 in favor of the Raptors at the end of the third quarter.
McConnell’s 8-foot shot cut the lead to seven with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter. Turner’s 3-pointer reduced the lead to five, and Toppin’s three-point play brought Indiana within two points at 6:36.
Agbaji responded with a 3-pointer for Toronto, and Poeltl made two free throws with 4:05 left to extend the lead to six points. Barnes then scored a floating jumper to make the lead eight with 3:32 remaining.
