For much of three quarters on Tuesday night, the Toronto Raptors seemed destined for a gutting, dispirited loss in Game 5 of their first-round series with the Indiana Pacers. And then they pulled off the biggest post-season comeback in franchise history, sparking a 21-2 run and taking the series lead 3-2.
Here’s a closer look at some of the fourth-quarter numbers behind the Raptors’ thrilling 102-99 win:
13 points — Indiana’s biggest lead in the fourth
5:14 between the Pacers’ first and second field goals
6 consecutive Pacer misses to start the quarter
4 consecutive baskets from the Raptors to tie the game, including…
1 Norm Powell dunk to knot it up at 92 apiece. Despite his breakout rookie season, this was Powell’s first true signature moment in the NBA. We suspect there’ll be more.
12 minutes played each by Powell, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo and Kyle Lowry
+16 plus/minus for each of those four
+16 point differential between Raptors and Pacers (25-9)
2 points by Paul George, after scoring…
37 the rest of the game, including…
15 in the previous quarter.
3 Raptors starters who never saw the floor in the fourth: DeMarre Carroll, Patrick Patterson and Jonas Valanciunas.
6/6 free throws made/attempted for the Raptors, compared to just…
0/2 for the Pacers.
1 since-deleted post-game jab from a certain Global Ambassador
5 points — the most scored by a Raptor in the final frame. DeMar DeRozan and Joseph each had five; Lowry, Powell, and Biyombo added four apiece, and Terrence Ross hit a triple. Whereas a player catching fire often sparks a comeback like this, Tuesday’s was a very balanced attack.
26.7 field goal percentage by the Pacers (not good)
16.7 three-point percentage by the Pacers (much worse)
0.1 seconds after the buzzer the ball left Solomon Hill’s hand
2 more sleeps until the next one
