TORONTO – Jonas Valanciunas looked into his defender’s eyes. Then he looked down at the three-point line. Then he peered into his defender’s eyes again.

And for a moment it looked like he was going to do it. It looked like he was going to attempt a three-pointer for just the third time in his five-year career.

He remains 0-for-2.

Instead of shooting, he pump-faked, Rakeem ‘I don’t read scouting reports’ Christmas, who fell for it and Valanciunas barreled down the lane, finally felled by Indiana’s Paul George, who riskied life and limb to prevent what would have been the greatest dunk of Valanciunas’ career.

It was still a great play by the Toronto Raptors centre, who picked himself up and made both free throws, but as teammate DeMar DeRozan pointed out, Christmas’ defence played a part.

“That’s a hell of a pump fake,” said DeRozan, the sarcasm requiring a paper towel. “He [Christmas] gotta’ come right out the game after that.”

But when you’re rolling like Valanciunas was Friday, and has been lately, defenders get scared.

Much has been made – deservedly – about the contributions Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker have made since being acquired by trade on either side of the all-star break.

Friday night’s 111-100 win over the Indiana Pacers improved Toronto (46-30) to a remarkable 13-6 since the pair were added to the roster, bringing defence, rebounding, size and three-point shooting. They will host a first-round series and still have an outside shot at gaining home court for the second round also.

The newcomers have been vital in the Raptors not merely staying afloat with all-star Kyle Lowry down after wrist surgery, but riding a wave.

But the win over the Pacers was a victory for the guys who have been here all along.

Predictably, there was another dominating outing from DeRozan, who at the very least deserves serious consideration for the Eastern Conference MVP for the way he’s carried his club offensively in times of need.

His 40-point effort was his seventh of the season, and was accompanied by nine rebounds, four assists that could have been more with some better finishing and 20 trips to the free-throw line.

But as DeRozan keeps adding layers to one of the greatest individual seasons in franchise history, it’s almost become expected, as unfair as that is.

A little less predictable has been Valanciunas’ emergence, over the past two games in particular. He was dominant in the Raptors holding the Charlotte Hornets to just 16 points in the third quarter on Wednesday and he had 12 of his 16 points and 13 of his 17 rebounds in 12 minutes after halftime Friday. The Raptors turned a 48-46 deficit into an 80-68 lead and were comfortably in control after that.

“I thought JV did an excellent job at again,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. “That’s the second game in a row he came with a lot of force, purpose in the paint, moving bodies around, screening and rolling, catching and finishing. He did an excellent job. What’d he have, 17 rebounds for us? That’s huge.

“I think JV’s playing at a high level last couple of games in the interior, with his physicality, rebounding, screening, doing all the things you need to do as a big man in this league.”

Valanciunas can’t quite explain it, but acknowledges something is happening as he comes out after halftime like a Lithuanian Shaq.

“I don’t know. I don’t know, [what’s happening]” he said. “I just hope it’s going to continue like that. I’m just playing with energy. Something’s giving me extra energy, extra focus. I just got to keep it.”

For a little while he seemed to have lost it.

The additions of Ibaka and Tucker has largely been seamless, which is a credit to them and the way they filled obvious areas of need for Toronto. Few feathers have evidently been ruffled with the arrival of two new rotation pieces.

“We’ve added two guys that are chemistry guys,” says Casey. “…You’ve added two leaders to your team as long as the guys that we have who are part of our culture, part of our system, understand our team chemistry, understand our team dynamics, understand how guys play.

“The most important thing about that is they know their roles and they accept their roles, embrace it. They don’t just say accept it; they embrace it. They understand who DeMar DeRozan is. They understand who Kyle Lowry is. I think that’s just as important as just giving a guy his role and saying, ‘here’s your role’. They accept it and they embrace and they run with it. That means a lot to our team.”

But the two incumbents most affected by Tucker and Ibaka’s arrival have been Patrick Patterson and for a long stretch Valanciunas.

It may be a coincidence but in the first five games after the all-star break he played his worst basketball of the season. His minutes were down to just 19 a game, his production followed and his body language reflected it.

But as much promise as the Raptors have, presuming Lowry returns in good time and unbothered after his wrist surgery (expectations are he might be playing within the week) they won’t fill their potential as a team without maxing out what their whole lineup has to offer.

Against the Pacers – in a follow up effort to his outing against Charlotte two nights ago – Valanciunas has indicated he still has a lot to give.

Him toying with lofting a three-pointer was just another sign of a player whose confidence is brimming.

“I was about to shoot it,” he said, half-joking. “I was surprised I didn’t shoot it. I’ve been working on that shot. I just have to find the right time and right opportunity.”

Casey: “He faked me out, too [but] he made the right decision of driving to the hole, driving to the basket.”

He’s never looked more confident offensively. Gone is the hesitation when open for jumpers at the elbows. He’s less shocked when a second-defender comes. He looks settled.

“You see it in his play,” said DeRozan, who did a good job finding Valanciunas on some interior passes. “You see it on the stat sheet when you look at his numbers. It’s a great time for him to be coming around.”

But Valanciunas’ defense is a bell-weather. On multiple possessions Friday (and Wednesday) he was getting out to help against ball-handlers, hustling back to contest multiple shots and then had enough energy to finish the possession with a rebound.

He credits the presence of Ibaka for helping his defence.

“It’s good to play with him on the court,” Valanciunas said. “If you go help someone you know he’s going to cover for you. Knowing this guy is behind you and waiting to help, it’s way easier on defence.”

Valanciunas’ third-quarter heroics didn’t suddenly alter Casey’s rotation. He only played just over three minutes in the fourth quarter as the Pacers went small to try and scramble up a comeback.

In another circumstance – heck, even last month – that might have been a problem. Better players than Valanciunas have gone into the tank for less – sitting after setting a franchise-record for rebounds in a quarter with 13.

But one of the reasons this version of the Raptors provides so much fodder for optimists is that they’ve been able to improve their roster, weather the loss of one of their stars while still somehow getting top-of-the-line performances from their old hands.

DeRozan has never stopped producing in his career-best season. Ibaka had 15 points, 12 rebounds and knocked down three triples as the Raptors were 14-for-27 from deep.

And Valanciunas played a ferocious game of basketball with the role that’s been prescribed to him.

Even as the roster has flipped and flopped and coped with injuries and departures, they remain knitted together in some shape or form.

Valanciunas could have let his game go south as the spotlight shone elsewhere after Ibaka and Tucker arrived. He didn’t, and for a couple of nights the spotlight has been back on him.

“We are a big family,” says Valanciunas. “We have good chemistry. We know each other, DeMar and Kyle have been here for a long time so guys are here a long time, they know each other, we’ve got some new pieces but we’re adapting really well, really quick.

“We’re ready to roll.”