Raptors defeat Pacers 130-122 as Scottie Barnes achieves his fourth triple-double of the year.

When the Toronto Raptors eventually put together a three-game winning streak, their coach, Darko Rajakovic, promised his team a delicious reward.
It’s time to payback now.

Players chanted “piz-za” in response to their longest winning streak of the season, which came Thursday night in a 130-122 triumph led by All-Star Scottie Barnes, who recorded his fourth triple-double of the year, and RJ Barrett, who scored 24 points.
“I promised them that I would take them out to dinner after we won three straight,” Rajakovic said as he emerged from the exuberant locker room. “But I told them we could have pizza because this team is so humble.”
This youthful club seemed hungry once again, extending their record after the All-Star break to 3-0, regardless of what they preferred to eat.
Additionally, it had a quite standard menu.
Seven Raptors scored in double digits on a night when Barnes finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. Freshman Gradey Dick tied his season-high with four 3-pointers, scoring 18 points and making two crucial ones in the closing minutes to open the game.
Rajakovic said, “This is just the beginning,” mentioning Dick. “He will have good games and bad games, but in order to win in those circumstances and to keep improving, he must keep learning and growing.”
With 34 points and nine rebounds, Bennedict Mathurin tied his career best and kept the Pacers in sight. Pascal Siakam, a two-time All-Star, tortured his old squad by finishing with 27 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Siakam was acquired by Indiana in a trade in January.
However, the Pacers struggled as the league’s greatest shooting squad, headed by All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, had a bad game. Haliburton was 2 of 11 from the field with nine points and seven assists. As a unit, the Pacers shot just 46%.
And the defense was much worse, at least in Mathurin’s view.
Mathurin, who drew the assignment on Barrett, remarked, “Defense was our main thing and I’ll go ahead say it, I was really bad on defense tonight.” “So, I’m excited for the upcoming game.”
After a back-and-forth first half, Toronto had a 61-56 lead, but Indiana scored six consecutive points in the third quarter to get within 67-66.
After the Raptors responded with an 11-0 run, the Pacers rallied to level the game at 90-87 at the conclusion of the third quarter, took the lead 96-95 on a putback by Jalen Smith with 10:04 remaining in the game, and finally ended up winning it.
Dick’s game-winning 3-pointer with 8:01 remaining sparked a 10-2 run that gave the Raptors a 112-104 advantage, and Indiana never really threatened again. The Pacers let Toronto to linger around instead of closing the gap.
UP NEXT RAPTOR: Start a three-game home stand against Dallas on Wednesday.
Pacers: Play New Orleans on Wednesday night to wrap out a four-game home series.

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