Candace Buckner

IndyStar

TORONTO — Throughout Friday, Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel shared the truth about his team.

While entertaining reporters’ questions about facing the Toronto Raptors, Vogel tempered talk about the No. 2 versus No. 7 sneak peek with this indisputable fact: The Pacers have not yet secured a playoff spot.

Later in the night, the Pacers showed why they’re still on the outside of the playoff picture.

Indiana simply needed a win against a limited Toronto team to clinch a postseason berth. Instead, the Raptors sent out their "B" squad and the Pacers fumbled away a gift, losing 111-98.

"We didn’t play well enough. We weren’t sharp in any area. I don’t think we respected the guys who were out there," Vogel said after yet another jarring loss. "We didn’t bring it at a high enough level."

BOX SCORE:Raptors 111, Pacers 98

With the No. 2 seed locked up, the Raptors rested their key players. All-Star starters Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan as well as veteran Luis Scola sat out. DeMarre Carroll, who returned to the lineup Thursday after missing 41 games due to right knee surgery, did not play on the second night of a back-to-back.

So not much of a playoff preview. Instead the Raptors gave Indiana only a glimpse of their second unit.

Still, the Pacers (42-37) treated the matchup carelessly and dropped to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

"We got to play like we want to be in the playoffs," C.J. Miles said.

Pacers vs. Raptors

Chalk up one more late-season misstep in the Pacers' disturbing trend of complacency.

Since March 26, the Pacers have gone 4-4. They've lost three of those games to teams that were out of the playoff picture (Brooklyn, Chicago, Orlando) and barely won games against two of the worst of the bunch (Philadelphia, New York). For a Pacers roster of players who drone on and on about their confidence in beating anyone in the league, the pressure of the playoffs has revealed a vulnerable team.

"(Toronto) came out and just played harder than us," Paul George said. "When we think as a group that we're progressing as a team then have a letdown like tonight, it's frustrating."

Just like before facing New York without Carmelo Anthony and two other starters or Cleveland without LeBron James, Vogel warned how the replacement Raptors would "bring it," and yet his guys could not defend rookie point guard Norman Powell (27 points, 14-of-19 free throws) and third-string rookie Delon Wright (19 points, 6-of-10 from the floor). Wright, who played almost 26 minutes off the bench, attempted eight free throws, more than any of the Pacers.

"Them guys were aggressive," Solomon Hill said. "It doesn't matter who's out there on the court. DeMar, Kyle Lowry were basically reincarnated in their players tonight. We didn't respect the game. We didn't respect the guys who were out there."

And more truth.

"We have to have a certain urgency about us that we don't have," Hill concluded.

After a slow-paced, poor-shooting first quarter, the Pacers trailed 20-15. Early into the second quarter, the Raptors built a 12-point lead and though the Pacers made a rally like they still cared, the moment passed.

"You start thinking they're resting their guys and we should jump on them," Miles said. "And then it turns into frustration when those guys come out and play well. It's the same case for the (Philadelphia and New York games)."

Miles added that the lesser-known players are trying to make a name for themselves in the late season. However, the Pacers should have just as much motivation in securing a playoff berth. On nights like Friday, however, that motivation was MIA.

Ian Mahinmi could not consistently remain on the floor due to foul trouble, and Lavoy Allen put up what felt like an invisible 12 points and eight rebounds.

Monta Ellis made half of his shots and finished with 17 points, while his backcourt mate George Hill (2-of-6 shooting, five points) had no impact on the game.

While George carried the Pacers through the first quarter, scoring eight points and making half of the team’s six field goals, he finished with only 14 points (4-for-11 shooting).

On the other side, the Raptors' starting lineup consisting of Powell, Cory Joseph, James Johnson, Jason Thompson and Jonas Valanciunas may not have looked like much on paper, but the unit still outscored the Pacers’ full-strength starters 72-50.

"They’re not as big (of) names as the guys who played regularly, but they’ve got good players," Vogel said. "Still no excuse for how we played. We wouldn’t have beaten anybody tonight.”

Then there’s this problem: Rather than taking care of business and getting rest for George, he left the game in the fourth quarter after a painful fall. While running the floor, George made contact with Lucas Nogueira, George appearing to trip over his own left foot — the same one that has been described as sprained and has given him problems since March 26. George stayed on his back for a while, hands over his head, and did not return to the game. By then, the Pacers trailed 91-74, and the look of blank expressions on the bench told the story of a wasted opportunity.

George said he had jammed his foot twice in the game. When asked if he could have played on had it been a playoff matchup, George did not answer directly, but what was left unsaid might have been the most telling.

"I had to come out for that second time," George said. "I had to let the pain go away."

With three games remaining in the regular season, the Pacers need another victory or a Chicago loss to clinch a playoff berth. The Bulls host Cleveland at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The Pacers are a half-game behind Detroit for the seventh seed but will reclaim the spot with any combination of Indiana victories and Pistons losses that equal three.

"It feels like a step back," Solomon Hill said. "You're talking about a team that we could possibly be matched up with, without four starters. Hopefully we can get back to playing basketball the right way."

Pacers vs. Nets, 6 p.m. Sunday, Fox Sports Indiana

Download the IndyStar Mobile Apps

Follow IndyStar reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.