Paul George scored 33 points to help the Indiana Pacers upset the Toronto Raptors 100-90 in the opening game of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series in Toronto.
The second-seeded Raptors led by two points at the half but the Pacers led by three entering the fourth quarter and pulled away down the stretch to earn a valuable road win on Saturday.
It is the first playoff series between Toronto and Indiana, with the second game to be played in Toronto on Monday.
"I was trying to figure out a better approach and come into the second half with a better focus," George said.
"I knew I was going to be able to get some good looks and I just had to be smarter about how I took them."
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It worked.
"Awesome," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.
"The biggest reason we won. There's a lot of reasons, a lot of guys made winning plays and impacted the game in a positive way.
"Paul's shot-making at the end of the game was spectacular. It's been a long road for him in terms of actually getting back to the court but before his injury, we were in the conference finals."
The second-seeded Raptors now have lost the opening game at home in the playoffs in three straight years.
They did not survive the first round of the playoffs in the previous two.
