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DeMar DeRozan Stepped Up When Toronto Needed It Most

By Brian Saunders

Apr 10, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) celebrates with forward Patrick Patterson (54) against the New York Knicks during the second half at Madison Square Garden. The Raptors defeated the Knicks 93-89. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) celebrates with forward Patrick Patterson (54) against the New York Knicks during the second half at Madison Square Garden. The Raptors defeated the Knicks 93-89. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Raptors were on the cusp of heading on the road down 3-2 in a first-round series to a lower-seeded opponent … before DeMar DeRozan stepped up.

The Toronto Raptors were down by as many as 17 points in the first half, although DeMar DeRozan‘s scored 19 first half points.

Paul George was rolling for the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers Tuesday night. He scored 12 points in the first quarter and had a team-high 22 at halftime. The Pacers led 61-52 at the half.

After Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Raptors backcourt of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry is regarded as one of the top duos in the league–both are All-Stars, after all–but their postseason performances have been nothing short of poor. To put it bluntly, Toronto’s best two players don’t play like All-Stars during the playoffs.

For DeRozan’s career in the playoffs, he averages 20 points per game on a 39 percent effective field goal percentage. Before Game  5 Tuesday night, he was shooting 21-for-71 for the series.

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In three playoff seasons  in Toronto, Lowry has averaged 17 points on 35 percent shooting a 28-for-98 from 3-point range during the postseason. For this series, Lowry has yet to shoot better than 38 percent for a game (8-for-21 in Game 3).

Despite DeRozan’s scoring outburst 34 points on 10-for-22 shooting, for many talking heads on Twitter, it was a forgone conclusion the Raptors would be going to Indiana down 3-2. And why not? The Pacers led by 13, 90-77, heading into the fourth quarter.

The Raptors’ reserves played as big a role as anyone; rookie Norman Powell‘s energy on both ends during the fourth quarter was huge. He got a huge steal and added four points during Toronto’s big run.

After fighting back to tie the game on a 15-2 run, it was fitting that DeRozan gave Toronto the lead on a 3 with 4:15 remaining in the game, 95-92. On the next possession, he kicked it to Cory Joseph for another 3 to give the Raptors a 98-92 lead.

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Toronto was on the verge of going down 3-2 and a loss away another early exit in the playoffs and then they weren’t, not after outscoring Indiana 25-9 during the fourth quarter and getting a more efficient game from DeRozan. Instead, the Raptors are now just a game away from clinching their first seven-game series.

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