The Toronto Raptors are inching closer to the second round after defeating the Indiana Pacers, 102-99, in their game five match-up on Tuesday, April 26. Also, Drake made a statement during and after the game that may not please everybody.
Should the Raptors succeed on stealing game six from the Pacers, it will be their first time to make the second round since the 2000-2001 season. Also, the two-year drought of missing the semis will be over for the DeMar DeRozan-Kyle Lowry era.
Game five was not served on a silver platter for the Raptors, though. The game almost went into overtime only if forward Solomon Hill released his three-point shot quicker. It was the impressive outing of All-Star DeMar Derozan that sealed the win for the Raptors, as he scored 34 points on a very efficient 10-22 shooting.
After the game, DeRozan addressed his strong performance and said he is relieved after shooting below 30 percent in their first four games.
"I just felt like my normal self," DeRozan told USA Today in a post-game interview. "It's all about patience, you can't get flustered, you can't get frustrated, you've got to stay the course and that's what we're going to continue to do."
His backcourt mate Lowry managed to add 14 points but on 3-11 FG shooting. Paul George was a beast once again as he scored 39 points as well as adding eight rebounds and assists to the stat sheet. Game six will be on Friday, April 29 as the Pacers will try to extend the series to a deciding game seven.
Also, another noteworthy scene in the game is Drake's involvement to the ball game. He was seen trying to get to the head of guard Rodney Stuckey after the guard lost control of the ball and lost it to the sidelines. Not only that, but the Raptors ambassador also took it to Twitter to mock Paul George with an image of the superstar shedding a tear but he immediately removed it from his page.
Some were pleased with his actions especially Raptors fans, but some did not like his gestures as he was branded as the most annoying NBA fan by the New York Post. Here are the highlights of game five between the Raptors and the Pacers.