TORONTO -- This is my opportunity. This is my team.

That's not a catchy a slogan written on a billboard off the highway. That's Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Paul George's personal mindset. It's a mindset he developed after watching some of his other teammates step to the forefront to lead the Pacers during their rise through the Eastern Conference a couple of years ago. It's also a mindset George didn’t know he would have again during his long road back from a broken leg suffered almost two years ago while playing for Team USA.

But there George was Saturday afternoon, darting in passing lanes to steal passes and making clutch baskets and assists in the second half as the Pacers took the air out of the Toronto Raptors and their fans in the Air Canada Center in their 100-90 Game 1 playoff victory.

"Awesome," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "The biggest reason we won. 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 on the court. Before his injury, we were in the conference finals. I think this is an exciting day for him to get back to playoff basketball."

George, who missed 76 games during the 2014-15 season while recovering from his broken leg, scored 27 of his 33 points in the second half when the Pacers overcame a two-point halftime deficit. He also had six assists and four rebounds to become the first Pacer since Jalen Rose in the 2000 NBA Finals to have at least 30 points and five assists in a playoff victory.

George would be lying if he told you he knew he would have a performance like this in the playoffs again. He had hoped it would happen, but there were days he even questioned himself while he battled to get back on the court. Vogel gave George "love, support, friendship" and "kicks in the butt at times" throughout his recovery.

"Some days I felt great, felt like I could have started that night," George said. "Some days I wanted to throw it all in, let Mother Nature heal it without doing any work. It was a little bit of both. I had great people around me. Put everything in their hands and trusted myself."

Paul George outplayed DeMar DeRozan on both ends of the floor in the second half of Game 1 of their playoff series. John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports

Saturday was George's first playoff game since Game 6 of the 2014 Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat. Gone were David West, Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson. It was George's turn to step to the forefront and lead the way after the Pacers missed the playoffs last season.

"To be out of the playoffs last year and not being able to help my team get there, that was probably the biggest burden on me immediately after I got hurt, I'm not going to be able to get this group to the playoffs," George said.

The pressure was there in the first half Saturday when he was just 2-of-9 from the field. George had assistant video coordinator Jhared Simpson slice up eight-second clips from the first half so that he could see how he needed to slow down and let the game come to him rather than force the issue.

George brought life to the Pacers in the third quarter when he scored 17 points by going 6-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers, when they outscored the Raptors by five to take a three-point lead into the fourth quarter. George had four of his six assists in the final quarter.

"I was searching for someone to stop Paul George," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I thought our normal rotation was a little skewed, just adding that extra player in there, but at the end it was searching for someone to stop Paul George. It wasn't really fair to put DeMarre [Carroll] in there after he got going and then try and turn the water off."

What can't go unnoticed is that George showed why he's one of the NBA's best two-way players when he harassed and frustrated Raptors All-Star DeMar DeRozan into 5-of-19 shooting.

"You don't see the best players in the NBA shying away from wanting to score and do what it takes offensively and then defend the other team's best scoring threat on the other end of the court," Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "Paul embraces taking on that role."

It's scary to think that George said he's still not physically where he was at before the injury. Saturday showed that he's on his way to getting there, though. The Pacers will need more of that from him if they expect to win the series.

"[George is] not a one-dimensional player," Pacers point guard George Hill said. "He plays on both ends of the floor. As much as he can kill you on the offensive end, he can be disruptive on the defensive end. Any time he's playing like that, where he's giving you everything on the defensive and offensive end, we're a very special team."