Roy Hibbert collected 24 points and 11 rebounds Monday as the Indiana Pacers made interim coach Frank Vogel a winner in his debut with a 104-93 home victory over the Toronto Raptors, who have dropped 12 straight games.
Darren Collison added 16 points and six assists and rookie Paul George scored 16 off the bench for the Pacers, who dismissed coach Jim O’Brien on Sunday after 3 1/2 years and replaced him with longtime assistant Vogel.
Indiana came out hot in the first quarter, ending the frame with a 22-8 burst triggered by back-to-back 3-pointers from Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy.
Eight straight points from Tyler Hansbrough to begin the second quarter began a 16-7 spurt and pushed the lead to 48-28. Toronto cut it to single digits by halftime and tied it at 51-51 less than two minutes into the third period but would not lead again as Hibbert hit two straight shots to stem the rally.
Vogel was asked to give more responsibility to the younger players in this latest rebuilding effort, and Hansbrough, George, Hibbert and Collison responded by combining for 70 points. Veterans Dunleavy and Granger totaled 19 on 5-of-21 shooting.
Amir Johnson scored 18 points to lead the Raptors.
Toronto | Indiana | |
Amir Johnson 18 | Scoring | Roy Hibbert 24 |
Jose Calderon 7 | Assists | Darren Collison 6 |
Amir Johnson 8 | Rebounds | Roy Hibbert 11 |
Andrea Bargnani 6 | Free Throws Made | Paul George 7 |
Julian Wright 4 | Steals | Mike Dunleavy 2 |
Ed Davis 3 | Blocks | Paul George 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Toronto | 93 | 41.3 | 1-6 | 16-21 | 16 | 38 | 9 | 11 | 16 |
Indiana | 104 | 44.4 | 8-20 | 24-28 | 19 | 56 | 5 | 8 | 25 |