Raptors help keep Pacers winless in Summer League with 94-79 victory

Terence Davis made his Toronto Raptors debut in NBA Summer League action earlier this afternoon, as the Raptors and Indiana Pacers squared off at the Cox Pavillion in Las Vegas. Davis wasted no time making an impact in Toronto’s 94-79 victory.

The undrafted rookie drained his first three-pointer moments after entering the game, and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. He shot 4-of-9 from downtown on the night.

Equally as impressive? Second-round draft pick Dewan Hernandez, who finished with 23 points (on 11 shots) and eight boards in 24 minutes.

It looked like we might see a shootout early, as Indiana’s Aaron Holiday and Brian Bowen II were hot early, and Malcolm Miller was dropping bombs to keep Toronto in it. Miller and Bowen even engaged in a little summer league trash talk! I’ll assume it’s the same as regular season trash talk, only the guys stumble over every third word or so.

The Raptors’ starting backcourt of Jordan Loyd and Darius Thompson played some solid ball early on as well; Thompson played in a bit of a rush but knocked down a couple long Js, and Loyd looked like a veteran playing with a bunch of rookies... which he pretty much is when it comes to Summer League.

The bricks came soon enough, though: the Pacers started 5-for-7, but then went on a 1-for-12 cold streak. Unfortunately, the Raptors couldn’t capitalize, and some sloppy play — leading to some silly fouls — helped Indiana stay in front at the end of the first, 22-20.

It was Terence Davis time as the second quarter started. He played aggressive D on the Pacers’ first possession, and proceeded to drop a three-ball and dish an alley-oop to Hernandez on the Raptors’ first two trips to put them on top, 25-24.

As for Hernandez, I’ll admit, off the tip I thought he looked a little slow-footed, but he showed solid ball-handling and some inside moves on three straight scores in the second quarter that made me reassess. He’s got skill, and size, and while he may not make an impact on the big squad this season, I suspect he’ll have a good Raptors 905 season.

Unfortunately fouls continued to cost Toronto throughout the half; the Raptors were slow in transition and on their rotations, and found themselves forced to hack to slow the Pacers down — and that free throw advantage kept the Pacers ahead, 48-46 at halftime.

Hernandez started the third off with a nice push shot off the glass, and had a lovely putback a couple plays later. He can score! He’s slithery around the hoop; like a bulkier Pascal Siakam. He showed some awareness on D, too, moving well in space and dropping back on pick-and-rolls.

Bryan Bowen had a strong third for Indiana, scoring on a putback and dishing a highlight-reel around-the-back pass to Alize Johnson for a corner three. But late in the third, the Pacers went cold again, and this time the Raptors did take advantage. Thompson continued to play aggressively on both ends, Malcolm Miller stroked a couple triples, and big man Richard Solomon scored on two putbacks; soon enough the Raptors found themselves with their biggest lead, 68-61, as the action moved to the fourth quarter.

The Pacers cut the lead back down to one straight away in the fourth, but Corey Walden and Jessie Govan combined to score seven straight, pushing the lead back to eight. The Raptors didn’t look back from there, and Davis eventually sealed the win with a late shot-clock-beating three.

Miller finished with 16 points for Toronto; Holiday and Bowen scored 23 and 17, respectively, for the Pacers.