Pacers vs. Raptors: Game 7 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

That sound you heard Sunday night was a collective sigh of relief from the entire city of Toronto—rather, the entire country of Canada.

The Toronto Raptors clinched their first playoff series win since 2001 with an 89-84 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of their first-round clash. The Raptors didn’t make it easy on their fans at the Air Canada Centre as they watched a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter shrink to as few as three, but they came through with the necessary plays down the stretch to escape with a victory:

The Raptors send the Pacers home!https://t.co/pid0T3ztwM

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 2, 2016

DeMar DeRozan did his best Kobe Bryant impression with a team-high 30 points on 32 shots, but his red-hot stretch in the third quarter also proved integral to the five-point difference. The Raptors also received 13 points from Norman Powell off the bench and a double-double (10 points and 15 rebounds) from Jonas Valanciunas.

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Valanciunas helped the Raptors control the glass with a 49-38 rebounding advantage. 

As for Indiana, Paul George was brilliant with 26 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, but he also turned it over seven times. Still, he made some franchise history in the process, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Paul George has set a Pacers record for most points in a playoff series, surpassing the 181 set by Reggie Miller in 1995 Conference Finals

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 2, 2016

The victorious Raptors jumped out to a quick 9-5 lead, but that was far from the Pacers’ only problem early. Big man Ian Mahinmi picked up two fouls in the first four minutes, and Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star reacted accordingly: “Death, taxes and two early fouls for Mahinmi. … Count on ’em.”

Fortunately for Indiana, it still had George to dazzle in transition:

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Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun had a lofty comparison for the Pacers superstar as he gave his team a 21-20 lead with that 360 dunk:

In this series, Paul George has basically been Orlando/Houston Tracy McGrady playing Toronto McGrady defence.

— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) May 2, 2016

Despite George’s formidable efforts, the Raptors controlled the final minutes of the first quarter and took a 28-23 lead into the second. Toronto parlayed that momentum into a 42-36 lead with less than four minutes remaining until halftime, but it had other concerns.

“[Kyle] Lowry gets crushed on a screen, picks up foul and holds injured arm on floor,” Wolstat noted early in the second quarter. 

While the point guard remained in the game, Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star realized he hadn’t “so much as looked at taking a jumper.”

Lowry had only five points in the first half, but Toronto built a 50-44 advantage heading into the locker room thanks to 15 points from DeRozan and 10 points from Powell. The team had some fun with Powell’s start on its Twitter page:

Norm right now. #RTZ #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/RSvU8FSijH

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 2, 2016

The Raptors wasted little time building on their lead in the third quarter. Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll both connected from deep, and Lowry added a layup during a four-possession stretch as …

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