Toronto Raptors forward James Johnson (2) tumbles as he battles for a rebound with Indiana Pacers forwards Danny Granger, left, and Lou Amundson, right, during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. …
With the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and the Indianapolis 500…
Updated: Wednesday, 28 Dec 2011, 9:27 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 28 Dec 2011, 9:27 PM EST
TORONTO (AP) - Danny Granger scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Indiana Pacers beat the Raptors 90-85 on Wednesday night, spoiling Toronto's home opener.
Paul George had 18 points, David West scored 14 and Roy Hibbert had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Darren Collison became the fifth Pacers starter to reach double figures by making a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds left. He finished with 10 points and 12 assists.
Indiana, which beat Detroit at home on Monday, won for the seventh time in 11 games against Toronto, and snapped a streak of 11 straight victories by the home team in the series.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points and Andrea Bargnani had 21 for Toronto.
Jerryd Bayless scored 13 points and Amir Johnson had 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who won Monday's season-opening game at Cleveland.
Indiana led by as many as 14 points in the fourth before Toronto rallied. A 3-pointer by DeRozan and three-point play by Jose Calderon cut it to 80-74 with 3:26 left, forcing the Pacers to call timeout.
Granger's 3-pointer made it 83-75 with 2:19 to play, but Toronto wasn't done. DeRozan hit a 3 and Bargnani followed with a three-point play, cutting it to 83-81 with 1:35 remaining.
Once again, a long-range shot from Granger gave Indiana some breathing room, with his 3-pointer from the wing pushing it to 86-81 with 1:14 left.
Calderon answered with a layup for Toronto but West's fadeaway jumper with nine to play restored Indiana's five-point cushion.
The Pacers led 38-34 at the half.
NOTES: Indiana outrebounded Toronto 41-39. ... The Raptors made 19 turnovers while the Pacers had 16. ... For the second straight game, Raptors backup C Aaron Gray was kept out as a precaution because of a rapid heart rate. ... Pacers C Jeff Foster (back) did not travel with the team to Toronto. ... It's the first time since 2000 that the Raptors have lost consecutive home openers. They were beaten by the New York Knicks last season. ... Canadian pop star Justin Bieber watched from a courtside seat.
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