One team will finally secure its first NBA Cup victory on Tuesday night when the Indiana Pacers visit the Toronto Raptors.
Each squad has an 0-3 record with one game left in group play of the in-season tournament.
The Raptors opened a seven-game homestand with a 119-116 win over Miami on Sunday, while the Pacers have lost two straight after dropping the opener of a four-game road trip 136-121 to Memphis on Sunday.
This is Indiana’s second visit to Toronto in two weeks. The Raptors won 130-119 on Nov. 18.
Toronto’s RJ Barrett scored a season-best 39 points in that game and delivered his latest strong home performance on Sunday with 37 points on 15-for-20 shooting.
In the seven home games that Barrett has played this season, the Toronto-born guard has averaged 30.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 54.2 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from 3-point land.
“At home we have such amazing fans, they really pick us up,” Barrett said. “Whenever we go on a run, everything feels better. Even when we’re down, they’re still there to pick us up. On the road, you’re going against the other team’s crowd, so you have to bring your own energy and focus.”
Scottie Barnes just missed a second consecutive triple-double when he had 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Raptors on Sunday.
Barrett and Barnes were solid down the stretch to help hold off the Heat, who fought back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to close within three.
“I want them to be aggressive to score, aggressive to create and, once you’re doing that, then to make the right decisions,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “You cannot be passive and make right decisions; that’s just not going to work. …I thought they did a really, really good job (Sunday).”
Indiana got 28 points from Bennedict Mathurin and 25 from former Raptor Pascal Siakam in Toronto last month.
On Sunday, the Pacers led the Grizzlies 45-28 after one quarter but were outscored 74-46 over the next two quarters. Indiana never got closer than eight points in the fourth and fell to 2-9 on the road this season.
“The first quarter, we did a lot of good things defensively that set up a lot of good offensive opportunities,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Unrealistic to think we’re going to score 40 points per quarter, but since the second quarter we had a lull and we didn’t play well.”
Mathurin led Indiana with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Siakam paired 17 points with six assists. Guard Andrew Nembhard logged a season-high 14 points and four assists in 15 minutes of action in his return from a 12-game absence due to a knee injury.
“He’s a big reason we got off to the start that we did,” Carlisle said of Nembhard. “He just knows how to play with (Tyrese Haliburton). It’s obvious that we missed him. We knew it was going to be an abbreviated run, a first-half-only situation, and he did well with it.
“That’s great news from (Sunday). The hope is we can build on his return on Tuesday and see where we are in terms of minutes. Hopefully, we can move up the number of minutes somewhat.”
Ben Sheppard (oblique) and Aaron Nesmith (ankle) did not play for Indiana on Sunday. Sheppard is expected to miss multiple weeks, while Nesmith has not played since Nov. 1.
Gradey Dick (calf) and Immanuel Quickley (elbow) missed Sunday’s game for the Raptors. Dick is questionable for Tuesday’s game, while Quickley is expected to be out until mid-December. Kelly Olynyk (back) and Bruce Brown (knee) are progressing toward making their season debuts.
