PACERS RELEASE
The Pacers dropped to 1-2 in Las Vegas Summer League on Monday despite their rally from down 18 points early in the contest, 94-93.
Alex Reese and Taevion Kinsey joined Braden Smith, Taelon Peter, and Jalen Slawson as Indiana’s first five on Monday.
Taelon Peter opened the scoring with a strong drive and dunk at the rim, but Toronto responded with an 11-0 run to take a nine-point lead less than three minutes into the contest. Indiana crawled back into it before the buzzer, but still trailed by 10 after the first quarter.
Rienk Mast came off the Pacers’ bench to lead the Blue and Gold in scoring through the first frame – he notched seven points and two rebounds in his initial seven minutes. He knocked down his second 3-pointer of the afternoon midway through the second quarter as he brought the Pacers back within five points of Toronto’s lead, 39-34.
Mast drilled his third triple of the contest to give the Pacers their first lead since they led 2-0 in the first quarter.
After trailing by as many as 18 points, Indiana was tied with Toronto at halftime, 45-45. The Pacers outscored the Raptors 29-19 in the second quarter to knot the game before the halftime break. Mast led the Blue and Gold with 13 points and six rebounds.
Indiana fought through a tightly contested third quarter, but entered the fourth trailing, 70-69.
The Pacers recaptured the lead just 90 seconds into the fourth as Gabe McGlothan converted a tough layup to put Indiana ahead of Toronto, 73-72. McGlothan took a fastbreak pass from Braden Smith on the following possession, and knocked down a triple that forced a Raptors timeout.
Allen Graves minimized Indiana’s four-point lead with just under four minutes to play as he connected from 3-point range for Toronto. The Pacers led, 87-86, heading into crunch time.
Slawson drove from the wing and detonated on the rim as he threw down a dunk to put Indiana up five points with two minutes to play, 93-88. Seth Lundy responded from range for the Raptors, however, and Toronto was back in it, 93-91.
Untimely Pacers fouls allowed the Raptors to go up a point at the free throw line, but Indiana had 12.5 seconds on the clock and possession of the basketball.
Smith drove to the block, faked a shot, and dumped a pass off to Mast. Mast went up for the game-winner, but found Lundy, who blocked his shot into the backcourt. Indiana fell to Toronto, 94-93.
Mast recorded his second double-double of Summer League with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Smith notched a game-high nine assists. Slawson also eclipsed the 20-point mark as he scored 21 points to go along with his eight rebounds. Lundy led the Raptors in scoring with 22 points and two steals.
The Pacers return to Summer League action on Wednesday, July 15, as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at 3:30 PM ET.
Key Stats
Indiana shot 39 percent from the field, including 26 percent from 3-point range.
The Pacers forced 21 Toronto turnovers.
Rienk Mast led all scorers with 23 points. He also recorded 10 rebounds, a blocked shot, and three made 3-pointers.
Braden Smith recorded a game-high nine assists.
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