TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 15 rebounds and 10 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Indiana Pacers 89-84 on Sunday night in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series to advance to face Miami in the conference semifinals.
Game 1 is Tuesday night in Toronto.
Rookie Norman Powell added 13 points, Kyle Lowry had 11 points and nine assists, and Patrick Patterson had 11 pointed to help Toronto win a seven-game series for the first time in franchise history.
The Raptors won their first postseason series since a five-game triumph over the New York Knicks in 2001, ending the NBA’s longest active drought between playoff series victories.
Paul George led Indiana with 26 points and 12 rebounds, George Hill scored 19 points, and Monta Ellis had 15.
Up 78-64 after three quarters, the Raptors didn’t make their first basket of the final quarter until a 3 by Powell at 8:19. Joseph followed with a pullup jumper to make it 81-67, leading to an Indiana timeout.
The Pacers responded by scoring 12 of the next 14 points, cutting it to 85-79 with 3:23 remaining. Indiana cut it to three at 85-82 on Ellis’ 3-pointer with 2:37 left, but Lowry answered with a driving layup.
George made a pair of free throws with 52 seconds left to pull Indiana within three again at 87-84. After DeRozan missed a 3-pointer, Solomon Hill grabbed the rebound and Indiana called a timeout to draw up a play for George, but he turned the ball over. DeRozan made the steal, then got fouled at the other end and made both with 6.5 seconds left, giving the Raaptors an 89-84 lead.
George missed a 3 with 3.9 seconds left, Biyombo grabbed the rebound and Lowry heaved the ball to the other end of the court as time expired, sending Toronto into the second round.
DeRozan scored 13 points in the first quarter, overcoming 12 by George, and the Raptors led 28-23 after one. DeRozan’s first-quarter total was more than he had in either Games 4 or 6, when he scored eight points.
DeRozan made just one of five field goal attempts in the second, but Powell came off the bench to score 10 points.
Toronto led 58-46 after a 3 by Carroll at 8:17 of the third, but the Pacers answered with a 7-0 run. Patterson made a 3-pointer at 4:37, Toronto’s fourth of the quarter after making three in the first half, and DeRozan scored the next five points in an 8-0 surge that gave the Raptors a 71-57 lead. DeRozan scored 13 points in the third.
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