Nate Taylor

IndyStar

Game 6: Raptors at Pacers, 7:30 p.m. Friday, FSI, NBA, ESPNews

All season, Paul George has played with the intent of pushing the Indiana Pacers as far as he could take them.

Elimination, in the form of Game 6 on Friday, is the obstacle in front of George and the Pacers in their first-round NBA playoff series against the Toronto Raptors. An upset George on Thursday didn't concern himself with the Raptors, the minor adjustments the Pacers may make or the possibility of a decisive Game 7.

George, with a clear voice, explained the approach the team should have to ensure the season does not end at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“It’s on everybody,” George said. “It’s on everybody to get this win.”

Much of the burden, though, will be placed again on George’s body – a task he has carried throughout his first full season back from sustaining a compound fracture in his right leg in August 2014. George understands this.

Yet what could await him Friday is a test of his will and endurance.

The Pacers stumbled at the start of the fourth quarter in Tuesday’s loss with George on the bench. Coach Frank Vogel valued resting George instead of using him to disrupt the Raptors’ momentum. George acknowledged that Vogel received much criticism for the decision.

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“Still not over it,” George said of Tuesday’s game. “Still not over it. We blew our opportunity.”

With the season’s most critical game upon the Pacers, George is not afraid to be on the court for every second of Friday’s game.

“If that’s the direction that the game is going, I’m all for it,” he said. “Whatever we've got to do to win, I’m doing it.”

George’s performance in Tuesday’s game – 39 points, eight rebounds, eight assists in 41 minutes – might be necessary for the Pacers to stave off elimination Friday and force Game 7 in Toronto on Sunday.

“I think people are big on that because of the outcome of (Tuesday’s) game,” Solomon Hill said of George’s potential usage Friday. “If we would have won the game, nobody would have said anything about Paul playing whatever minutes. It’s because of the way he was going, but that has its own good and bad, too. You don’t want to keep trying to get Paul to keep hitting home run balls every time. There’s still 70 other points to account for. He needs to get his rest and he needs to be able to finish (the game) strong.”

Surrounding George will be a group of teammates who will be playing their first "must-win" game together.

Rookie Myles Turner was in high school the last time the Pacers were in such a situation two seasons ago. Monta Ellis, the team’s veteran leader, was with the Dallas Mavericks. Hill was a rookie with the Pacers, not an invaluable reserve coming off the bench.

“Everybody is positive,” Ellis said. “We've just got to go out and get the job done. We know what we need to do. We know we can beat them.”



Vogel was not worried about the attitude or the intensity that he will urge from his players in Friday’s game.

“If you have a group that’s been through battles and is back, I think that’s the strongest experience that you can draw on,” Vogel said of facing elimination. “If you have guys that have been in it with different teams, it’s a different level of experience, slightly less than if you have continuity. But it doesn’t mean you can’t get the job done.”

Vogel expects to see the Raptors’ new small lineup during Friday’s game. That lineup – Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Cory Joseph, Norman Powell and Bismack Biyombo – created the turnovers, fast-break points and defensive stops Tuesday that started the Raptors’ rally in the fourth quarter.

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Vogel would not give specifics on how he intends to counter Toronto’s smaller approach, but he said using Hill with his three perimeter starters and a mix of Ian Mahinmi or Turner could be an option.

“I credit him for a good adjustment,” Vogel said of Toronto coach Dwane Casey. “He’s pulling strings and making things happen. He’s a heck of a coach and we've got to play better against that unit.”

Ellis mentioned the Pacers did change some of their strategy in Thursday’s practice.

But George and Vogel emphasized the same two factors in what they believe will lead to a victory Friday: a fast pace and ball movement, which is how the Pacers built their 13-point lead Tuesday before their meltdown.

“I think we’re doing a great job of trusting one another and being aggressive on the catch,” George said. He added. “Both teams know what each other is running, know the sets and know where guys are going to be.”

Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.

Raptors at Pacers, 7:30 Friday, ESPNews, NBATV, Fox Sports Indiana

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