Monday, 12 March 2012

Streaking Pacers Pop Raptors 102-84

INDIANAPOLIS - Jermaine O'Neal scored 21 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 102-84 Saturday night for their third straight victory.

Danny Granger added 14 of his 18 points in the third quarter and Mike Dunleavy had 15 points for the Pacers (23-20), who had fallen to .500 after losing a season-high four in a row.

Chris Bosh, voted as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Jose Calderon scored 14 points for Toronto (22-23).

After falling behind 40-39 at the half, Indiana began to pull away late in the third quarter. O'Neal and Darrell Armstrong each hit a pair of free throws to end the period, giving the Pacers a 69-61 advantage.

Indiana pushed its lead to 81-66 following consecutive 3-pointers by Armstrong and Dunleavy with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 26-18 early in the second quarter, the Pacers went on a 10-1 run, which was capped by O'Neal's basket to give Indiana a 28-27 lead.

The Raptors took a 37-32 edge following Bosh's dunk with 3:30 left in the period. The Pacers scored the next seven points, but Toronto got a jumper from Jorge Garbajosa and Bosh's free throw to take a one-point halftime lead.

Notes:@ In his first game after being named an All-Star starter, Bosh had 26 points and eight rebounds in Friday's victory over Boston. ... Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, whose team will play the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl, attended the game. He received a standing ovation from the Conseco Fieldhouse crowd when shown on the big screen. ... The Pacers finished 3-1 on their longest homestand of the season thus far. They play at Detroit on Sunday. ... Indiana improved to 30-14 all-time against Toronto. ... Raptors rookie Andrea Bargnani had two points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field.

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