By Canadian Press

Barnes has career-high 35 points as Raptors beat Pacers 122-11

Dec 3, 2024 | 8:15 PM

TORONTO — Scottie Barnes had a career-high 35 points as Toronto held off the Indiana Pacers 122-111 on Tuesday after the Raptors led by as many as 24 points.

Barnes had nine assists and six rebounds as Toronto (7-15) won back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Raptors have also won three of their past four games.

RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., just missed out on his fourth consecutive game at Scotiabank Arena with 30 or more points, finishing with 29 for Toronto. Jakob Poeltl had a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards.

Rookie guard Ja’Kobe Walter started in his fourth consecutive game for the Raptors. He had two points and a rebound in 17 minutes filling in for Gradey Dick (calf).

Tyrese Haliburton scored 30 points, six assists and four rebounds as Indiana (9-13) dropped its third straight. Montreal’s Bennedict Mathurin had 17 points.

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Andrew Nembhard of nearby Aurora, Ont., played in his second game for the Pacers since missing 12 games with right-knee inflammation. He finished with six points and four assists.

Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic said before the game that Dick is nearing a return to the lineup but that the team wanted him to get in a full practice first.

The Raptors improved to 1-3 in the group stage of the NBA Cup but will not advance to the single-elimination round of the in-season tournament. Indiana went 0-4 in East Group B.

TAKEAWAYS

Pacers: Indiana looked largely disinterested through the first half, but came alive in the third quarter. Haliburton had 12 points as the Pacers outscored the Raptors 36-28 in the period. Significantly improved three-point shooting made the difference, with Indiana making 6-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc in the third compared to 4-of-11 three-point shooting in the first two quarters.

Raptors: Toronto looked like two different teams before and after intermission. After dominating all facets of the game in the first half, including 25 for 45 (55.6 per cent) shooting on field goals, 10 for 20 (50 per cent) shooting on three pointers, the Raptors lost focus in the second half, 19 for 36 (52.7 per cent) on field goals and 2 for 13 (15.3 per cent) on three-pointers

KEY MOMENT

An 8-0 Indiana run in the middle of the fourth quarter cut Toronto’s once sizable lead down to 105-103 with 6:36 left to play.

KEY STAT

Barnes had a career-high 35 points on 13-of-20 field-goal attempts, including 3 for 7 on three-pointers. He also made six of eight free throws. His previous high was 32 points, made twice, most recently against the Utah Jazz on Dec. 23, 2023. It was his 10th career 30-point game.

UP NEXT

Toronto: Hosts MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Hamilton and his Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

Indiana: Continues its road trip with a stop in Brooklyn against the Nets on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.

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John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press