Toronto hangs on, takes Game 7, moves to the Eastern semifinals

The Raptors just couldn’t let anyone breathe easy. It wouldn’t be their style.

Toronto managed to make the second round of the playoffs on Sunday night, edging out the Indiana Pacers in a too-close Game 7 at home, taking the deciding game of the series with an 89-84 score. The Raptors led by as many as 18 points but watched as Indiana dropped the score down to just three in the final minute.

It was all very Raptor-y.

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Toronto would not have even been in this position but for two maddening aspects of the team’s season – winning a franchise record 56 games and earning home court advantage in the first round of the 2016 NBA playoffs, and giving that home court advantage right back up on the first day of the NBA’s postseason in a Game 1 loss to Indiana. In what could have been the deciding game of the series, Toronto had a 12-point advantage in Friday’s Game 6 prior to being felled in what turned into a 19-point Pacer win. Toronto spent the bulk of 2015-16 acting as the Eastern Conference’s decided No. 2, and yet the team needed an ill-timed lob to Ian Mahinmi to secure its spot in the second round.

This marks the first time the team has made the Eastern Conference semis since 2001, just the second time overall in franchise history. That turn was marked by Vince Carter, Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams playing significant roles. This one came on the heels of swingman DeMar DeRozan finally finding his stride at the exact right time.

DeRozan hit for 30 points in the win, hardly a big swing for someone that averaged 23.5 a game during the regular season, but a bit of a stretch for someone who only contributed 95 points in the first six games of the series. It took him 32 shots to get there in Game 7, but his two final free throws gave Toronto its final margin, and his 13 third quarter points helped the Raptors gain an edge when it was unclear as to who would earn the Game 7 victory coming out of the halftime rest.

Patrick Patterson, inserted into the starting lineup midway through the series, also chimed in with nine points during that third quarter. The stretch power forward hit three three-pointers during that frame and helped close out on Pacer rookie Myles Turner. The Indiana rookie, who shot just 2-11 in the game, could have acted as a game-changer but the 20-year old saw several of his looks go awry despite good intent and warming hustle.

Patterson didn’t play a huge part on the boards despite his box-outs, but Raptor centers Jonas Valanciunas and Bismack Biyombo (a Pacer killer from the word “Biyombo”) combined to reel in 26 caroms, as Toronto clawed a 49-38 rebounding advantage. Pacer swingman Paul George led Indiana with 12 rebounds, but his work wasn’t enough in the loss.

George, who has enjoyed perhaps the best individual playoff performance of all participants thus far, finished with 26 points while hitting four three-pointers, while playing in all but two of Game 7’s 48 minutes. He also turned the ball over seven times, though, and Raptor swingmen DeMarre Carroll and rookie Norman Powell did well to square themselves in front of Indiana’s best offensive threat.

The Pacer All-Star’s best help came from hybrid guard George Hill, who squared his hip in front of several defenders on pull-up jumpers, nailing 8-11 from the field and finishing with 19 points. Limiting the Pacer bench was clearly a priority for Toronto’s coach Dwane Casey, who had to notice Indiana coach Frank Vogel’s shortened rotation: Solomon Hill played well but was chased off of the three-point line on his way toward four points in 35 minutes. Reserve guard Rodney Stuckey hit 4-6, but those two were just fringe members of what was essentially a seven-man rotation for Indiana.

In the interim, the Raptors acted timely. For once.

Rookie Powell hit 5-6 shots, contributing to his rise as everyone’s second favorite player. Biyombo was clutch while moving without fouling and Valanciunas did well to work around a Pacer team that was obviously well-versed in the knowledge that Raptor guards badly wanted to feed him with all the lobs he could handle off of screen and roll plays. Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry is still hurting – he shot 31 percent on the series after hitting 31 percent in the regular season following an elbow injury – but his time on the court hardly acted as a mitigating factor.

Toronto does not have momentum, as it readies itself for a series against the Miami Heat in the second round. Its best player is hurt, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has seven games’ worth of film to dive through in anticipation (and this is no slight to Indiana) the matchup that he likely expected all along. Moving into the franchise’s first Eastern Conference final, even as a No. 2 seed, won’t be easy.

For one night, though, this will do. The Toronto Raptors have made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Roll over Morris Peterson, tell Jerome Williams the news.

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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops