TORONTO (AP) — Fred VanVleet hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25 seconds left and the Toronto Raptors rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 99-96 on Wednesday night.
Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Pascal Siakam had 17 and Greg Monroe 13 as Toronto snapped a two-game losing streak. The Raptors, who have the best record in the NBA at 24-9, avoided their second three-game slump of the season.
VanVleet scored nine of his 11 points in the final quarter as Toronto won its tenth straight home meeting with the Pacers. Indiana has not won in Toronto since March 1, 2013.
Victor Oladipo scored 20 points for the Pacers, who lost their second straight after winning the previous seven.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18 points, Myles Turner had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana.
Toronto shot 4 for 22 from 3-point range through the first three quarters, but made 3 of 8 in the fourth to avoid a season-worst performance from long range.
The short-handed Raptors were without starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who missed his third straight game because of a sore left thigh, and center Serge Ibaka, who was inactive because of a sore right knee. VanVleet and Siakam both returned to the starting lineup after missing Sunday’s loss at Denver because of back soreness. Forward Norman Powell returned after a 21-game absence caused by a left shoulder injury.
Toronto trailed 88-75 less than two minutes into the fourth, but battled back to tie it 92-all on Siakam’s driving layup at 4:12.
Oladipo restored Indiana’s lead with a jump shot at 1:36, but VanVleet’s long 3-pointer with 25 seconds to go put Toronto up one, 97-96.
With Indiana looking for a potential winning basket, Toronto’s Danny Green forced Oladipo into a jump ball with less than three seconds remaining. The Raptors recovered the ball and Green sealed it with a pair of free throws.
The Pacers saw their season-long winning streak end Tuesday night when visiting Cleveland earned a 92-91 victory with a tip-in at the buzzer.
Indiana led 58-50 at halftime and was ahead 85-75 after three.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana has lost 13 of the last 16 regular-season meetings with Toronto. ... Thaddeus Young scored 11 points.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Visit Brooklyn on Friday night.
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