

In a series where turnovers and free-throw shooting — the mechanics of basketball — decided the first six games, it was the Indiana Pacers that cracked under the pressure in the final contest.

The Pacers, as a team, got to the line 10 fewer times than the Raptors.

Even superstar forward Paul George struggled handling the ball, committing seven of his team’s 13 turnovers. He did put up 26 points and 12 rebounds, though.

The Raptors, for their part, only turned the ball over eight times.

After turning the ball over 16 times in their Game 6 loss, the Raptors slowed their offence down to prevent Indiana from forcing turnovers, according to Pacers forward Solomon Hill.

“When we started putting pressure on them, it changed the game,” Hill said of the near-comeback before his team fell 89-84 in the deciding game. “That desperation, we should have had that in the third quarter.”

The Raptors’ desperation started from tipoff. Two quick Pacers turnovers led to the opening baskets of the game for Kyle Lowry and DeMarre Caroll.

By the end of the third quarter, the Pacers had turned the ball over twice as many times as the Raptors and had been to the free throw line just twice. As a result, they trailed by 14 points.

The Raptors, whose three losses in the series came when they shot 70% or lower from the line, responded after going just 16-24 in Game 6 (64%) by getting to the line more. And the six extra points the Raptors converted from the free-throw line were the difference.

“We had to keep attacking,” Hill said. “Once we got running, we got to the line. We have to attack and do our job early. You can’t beg for calls at the end of the game.”

The end result is a tough loss at the end of a hard-fought series for the visitors.

“It’s hard trying to fight back against a team like that,” Pacers guard Monte Ellis said. “We fought to the end and the better team won.”

For George, the leading scorer in the first round of the playoffs, the series took a toll.

“I ran out of gas a little bit,” he said. “I was definitely winded late in the game.”

For Hill, the season-ending loss hasn’t quite set in yet.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Hill said. “It will hit me sooner rather than later. We had plenty of chances to win this series and we didn’t. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.”