Raptors to face Pacers in first round of playoffs

By Eric Koreen, The Canadian Press

With little on the line, the Toronto Raptors found some meaning in their final home game of the regular season — an encouraging performance from DeMarre Carroll.

Carroll keyed a run early in the second half, and the Raptors cruised to a 122-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. The Raptors finished the year with a 32-9 record at Air Canada Centre, the best mark in franchise history.

Toronto wraps up the regular season with a game in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Thanks to Indiana’s win in New York and Detroit’s loss to Miami, the Raptors will play the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, which will start on the weekend.

Norman Powell scored a team-high 18 points in a team-high 38 minutes.

The Raptors had an awful second quarter, allowing the woeful 76ers to score 38 points.

They responded in the third quarter. With the returning Carroll sliding into Luis Scola’s place to play with the other four starters early in the frame, the Raptors went on an 18-6 run. They outscored Philadelphia 32-13 in the quarter.

This was Carroll’s first home game since Jan. 3. He returned last week in Atlanta after missing the previous 42 games as he recovered from arthroscopic knee surgery. Carroll scored eight points in 21 minutes, the most he has played since his return.

The game was nothing more than a chance to pad their win total for the Raptors. Cleveland’s win in Atlanta on Monday evening locked Toronto into the Eastern Conference’s second seed.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey said he planned on playing fairly normal rotations on Tuesday, but that did not come to pass. The starting unit was the same as usual, but key reserves Cory Joseph and Patrick Patterson did not play. Seldomly used point guard Delon Wright and big man Lucas Nogueira were among the first players to come off the bench. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were limited to 26 and 22 minutes, respectively.

The game marked the first time the Raptors played the 76ers since Philadelphia hired Bryan Colangelo to be the club’s president and general manager. Colangelo, who replaced Sam Hinkie last week, had the same title with the Raptors from 2006 to 2013.

“He’s a basketball lifer,” said Casey, who was hired by Colangelo in 2011. “He’ll do an excellent job for that team as far as getting it together, getting them to play the right way, and developing a culture that the city can be proud of.”

 

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