PG says Pacers must figure out how to stop Valanciunas
Even though the Indiana Pacers split the first two games in Toronto, Paul George insists he isn't pleased as the series shifts to Indianapolis.
That's partly because Jonas Valanciunas has been dominant in the midst of a breakout performance for the Atlantic Division champion Raptors.
As George looks to continue his strong play, the Pacers hope to find an answer for the 7-foot Lithuanian on Thursday night when they try to take a 2-1 series advantage.
George forced Toronto's hand when he finished with 33 points and hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range in Saturday's 100-90 Game 1 victory. The Raptors responded by moving top defender DeMarre Carroll into the starting lineup for rookie Norman Powell on Monday, even though Carroll is still working his way back from knee surgery.
The move had little impact as George scored 28 points and went 10 for 11 from the free-throw line in a 98-87 loss at Air Canada Centre that evened the series. Even when Carroll has guarded him, George has shot 6 for 9 in the two games.
"There's no stopping PG. He's playing phenomenal," Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said. "You're not going to stop him from getting 25 or 30. He's going to get that, that's how talented he is. We've just got to make it a little bit more difficult."
The Raptors might be able to live with George's 25 or 30 points if they're able to contain the rest of the Pacers. Monta Ellis was the only other Indiana player to score in double figures Tuesday with 15 points after five did so in Game 1. The other Pacers besides George and Ellis combined to shoot 34.9 percent in Game 2, including 1 for 15 from 3-point range.
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Though Indiana stole home-court advantage, George is frustrated the club wasn't able to take a 2-0 series lead.
"Usually, you walk away from (a split) feeling good about it but I'm kind of upset ... because a lot of stuff that we gave up was preventable," George said. "The game was set up the same way as Game 1 for us to rally back and win."
Valanciunas helped make certain that wouldn't happen as Toronto snapped a seven-game postseason losing streak. He had a playoff career-high 23 points and 15 rebounds after pulling down a franchise playoff-record 19 boards in the opener. One reason the Raptors didn't win that game is Valanciunas fouled out and played less than 22 minutes, including 2:32 of the decisive fourth quarter.
Still, with Valanciunas leading the way, the Raptors have outscored the Pacers 88-56 in the paint and outrebounded them 96-71. That's been huge since Lowry has shot 7 for 26 and fellow All-Star DeMar DeRozan has gone 10 for 37.
"He's rolling hard, he's rebounding the ball extremely well," Lowry said. "When teams are trying to take myself and DeMar out, he's got to have big games for us."
George and George Hill have played a key role in slowing Toronto's backcourt, but the Pacers are still looking for answers against Valanciunas. The fourth-year center had 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting with Ian Mahinmi on him in Game 2 after doing his most damage in the opener against Myles Turner with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting.
"We're doing a good job on Kyle and DeMar but (Valanciunas) has stepped up," George said. "He's who is causing us the problems and we've got to figure it out."
Turner could be back on Valanciunas with Mahinmi listed as day to day after he wasn't able to play in the second half on Monday because of a sore back. Mahinmi said after Thursday's shootaround that he was feeling better, but Frank Vogel still called him questionable.
The Raptors are 14-2 when Valanciunas has at least 17 points.
Toronto's Terrence Ross is expected to play after missing the second half. The forward went through the concussion protocol after getting knocked down in the first half Monday and complaining of a headache.
